The Legend of Zelda: The Tome of Lineage
by ThuhJesheekuh
Summary: Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Link and the pirates go in search of the next Hyrule. But when a new friend is in trouble, the quest to save her becomes a quest to quell the evil stirring in an ancient kingdom. Status: Retired
1. Prologue

Edit (3/1/07): I did a complete overhaul of the prologue. Now, hopefully, it doesn't read like a 16 year-old wrote it. I think it's better now. I didn't change any major plot points, just a few smaller details. Enjoy.

* * *

Selphie: Yeah, yeah, I know I've left a couple of other stories hanging. But I got writer's block on those and this one was flowing so I went with it. Hi. To those of you who do not know me, I am Selphie Louise, lord of birds, brownies, and socks. I will be your authoress for this story. Please remain seated while the story is in motion.

Din: That was incredibly lame.

Selphie: Oh, dear sweet...! Don't tell me you're invading my author's notes again!

Nayru: Watch that tone of voice.

Farore: Remember: we giveth, we taketh away.

Selphie: Yeah, but you're not the driving force behind this story, so you've got nothing on me.

Farore: Pardon? ((pushes Selphie Louise away from laptop and reads ahead in the story's outline)) Din! We're not in here until like the very end!

Selphie: What now? ((rereads outline)) Oh, yeah! I guess I forgot to change that. See that scene is actually not happening. ((deletes it))

Din: So you're saying that as opposed to appearing near the very end, we're not in there at all.

Selphie: Er... nope? ((each goddesses pulls out a different instrument of battle)) ...I fear for my pathetic authoress life... ((runs like hell))

Darunia: ((appears out of nowhere)) Disclaimer: She doesn't own anything Zelda-fied. If she did, well... we'll just not think about that... She claims several characters in this story, but we'll not spoil it for you.

Din: Yeah! That's my job!

Selphie: ((reenters, panting and out of breath)) Read on, readers. Read on. ((goddesses come running in with various weapons)) Eep! ((runs away))

* * *

Prologue

As she walked through the canyon, Selphie felt completely at ease. Her mother always claimed that it was often a dangerous place, even without the Jeimjine Republic invading Termina, but it was too hard to believe, since Selphie had never encountered any dangers in her whole life. Ikana Canyon had been her home for thirteen years, since she was born, and especially as of late, the monotony of the region was really getting to her. What she wouldn't give to leave.

The red potion her mother always made her carry swished around in its bottle. Her short brown hair bounced merrily in its two ponytails while the sun danced across her green eyes. The light blue chemise and brown slacks were certainly showing how much she liked to wear them.

If she laid her ear against the ground and listened carefully she could hear cannons across Termina. It would be a while if the Republic got out of Great Bay and all the way across Termina to Ikana. Everyone else had developed a way to defend their selves. Ikana was still working on its defense. That was about the only exciting thing around there. They were creating a song that would enable them to make an infinite number of perfect soldiers.

Selphie continued to walk along. Suddenly she started, hearing an unfamiliar sound from behind a boulder nearby; a sort of groaning noise. "Hello?" she called out cautiously, moving around the boulder, wary of whatever the source may be. It was a Garo, a ninja whose clan hated Ikanans. He turned his head weakly, and there was no missing her.

"Albor above!" she exclaimed the name of her country's guardian deity and turned on her heel, about to run.

"Wait!" the Garo rasped. "I will not hurt you!" Selphie paused a short distance away and looked back at him. He was reaching out feebly, and she realized suddenly that his purple robes were covered in dark stains. She'd heard of an attack on a house in Ikana Village a few days ago. She hoped the blood did not belong to one of them.

"A-are you okay?" she asked tentatively, worried by the Garo's condition. She stepped toward him slowly.

"I am not," the Garo replied. "The blood you see is my own. I beg you, help me."

She thought instantly of the red potion she carried, and thought for a moment whether he would murder her on the spot once he was healed. And yet, she could not ignore the rattling of his breath. Popping the cork, she prayed she would live to see the next day. The Garo took it in one hand and took a mouthful. However, when he went to swallow, the potion flew out and splattered the ground, and the Garo went into a fit of coughing while more red fluids hit the ground. Selphie, of course, had leapt away.

"It is for the best," the Garo said. "I have nowhere to go."

"What about the hidden colony the Garo supposedly have?" Selphie asked suspiciously.

He shook his head, "It is from Garo attacks that I flee. They call me a traitor to our race because I harbor no hatred toward the people of Ikana. They think you to be inferior for your sympathy. But you have just demonstrated to me even more that they are wrong to condemn such behavior."

The Garo reached into his robes. "For you," he said, producing a red sash woven with an elaborate pattern. "In gratitude. Guard it well. Do not let it fall into Garo hands."

"It's a sash. What's so special about it?" Selphie asked, taking it.

His breathing was becoming more labored. "Telekinesis," he rasped and he waved her away. "Now go…! Quickly!" Selphie did not hesitate. Hiding the sash and turning tail, she ran back to her village.

The Garo's next deep rattling breath was lost instantly and he fought to speak his next words. "To die… without leaving… a corpse… that is the way… of… the Garo…" The fuse hit the bomb and the Garo was lost in the explosion.

* * *

"Are you crazy?!" 

"Shh!" Selphie hushed. She glanced up to see if Madame DiPoli had heard them. The librarian was in charge of education in Coulee Village, where Selphie lived, as opposed to the larger Ikana Village where a proper school was established. Madame DiPoli was a martinet of library decorum, so Flat's outburst could easily have gotten them both chastised. The cause of his declaration of insanity was sitting in Selphie's lap: the red sash the Garo had given her several days ago.

Assured that their exacting educator had not been roused by their conversation, Selphie turned back to Flat. "Why did you even stop to talk to a Garo? You're lucky to be alive!" Flat told her.

"He was covered in blood. He could barely move, let alone cut me to bits. What was I supposed to do?" Selphie replied.

"Run!" Flat answered.

"Hey, you know me. Curiosity will probably be my undoing one day, but since it clearly wasn't at this point, can we get beyond the fact that it was a _Garo_?"

"Well, sure you're alive now, but what about the sash?" Flat asked, glancing at it warily. "It could be cursed or something. He wouldn't need to move to do that."

"Well, he said it gives you telekinesis," Selphie said.

"And you believe him?" Flat said skeptically.

"Not really, but it'd be kinda neat to try," Selphie shrugged.

Flat groaned, "I hate this…" His head hit his open book and Madame DiPoli came walking briskly. "It's so good I was hypnotized?" She shook her head, and the two teenagers returned to reading A Brief History of the Mortal Realm.

* * *

The next day, Selphie and Flat found their selves by the river, Selphie's new sash tied around her waist. She liked the way it looked and told her mother that she'd spent her allowance on it the last time Madame DiPoli took the students to Ikana Village School. Weird things happened whenever she wore it though, and this was the day they were to test it. 

"I can't believe we're doing this," Flat said uncertainly, looking around to make sure no one was around.

"Why don't you park yourself closer to the river? There's some mud you can stand in," Selphie teased. Flat groaned but stayed where he was.

"Just how do you plan on testing this thing?" he posed.

"Trying to pick up rocks and stuff without touching them, I guess," Selphie shrugged.

"You _guess_?" he said. "Selphie, you're lucky that just wearing that thing hasn't killed you!"

"Oh, lighten up for once, Flat!" she replied, waving her hand dismissively. As she did this, Flat yelped in alarm as his feet left the ground.

"What the heck what the heck what the heck!" he cried from a few feet in the air.

"Whoa!" Selphie exclaimed. "It works on people?"

"Sure! Fine! Yes! Just put me down!" he pleaded.

"Uh…" Selphie waved her hand downwards and Flat came down. His eyes were wide and frightened.

"Holy crap! It _does_ work!"

* * *

Selphie and Flat spent as much time as possible down by the river practicing. Flat was definitely a believer at this point. It wasn't too long before she could use it without moving her hands. The sash remained their secret for weeks until… 

_CRASH!_ Selphie's eyes snapped open and she sat up in bed. It was the middle of the night in Coulee Village. Van, her little brother, sat up in his bed as well. "Selphie?" he asked fearfully as he pushed the bed hair from his eyes. "What's going on?"

"I dunno," she answered, trying not to sound nervous. Hopefully it was just a plate in the kitchen cabinet or something. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and left the bedroom, walking down the hall to her parents' room. "Mom? Dad?" she asked, poking her head in the door. Her father wasn't there, but her mother was tying her robe. "Mom-?"

"Selphie, go stay in your room. Lock the door," her mother instructed.

"Mom, what's going on?" Selphie asked nervously as her mother walked past her to the door.

"Watch your brother," her mom said sternly, turning to face her. She disappeared down the stairs. Selphie stared after her for a moment and turned to reenter her own room. Van was curled up at the head of his bed. Selphie disregarded him as she headed over to her dresser. Her sash was lying on top of it, and she quickly tied it around her waist.

"Selphie?" Van asked uncertainly. They both jumped suddenly. Someone had screamed downstairs.

"Mom!" Selphie turned to her brother, "Van, stay here. Do not come downstairs for any reason." She started out the door.

"Selphie, what's going on?" Van whimpered. "I'm scared!"

Selphie turned around in the doorframe. "Stay here." She closed the door behind her and ran downstairs-- "Aik!" --right into the arms of Robert Sakon, the infamous robber. "Let go of me!" she cried in a terrified voice, fighting against his grip. She looked up at him and found the evil glint in his eye as he smirked down at her.

"Well, well, well," he leered. "Look what we have here." Selphie cringed from his smirk and finally noticed her parents both tied up with cloths stuffed in their mouths. Within a few moments, Selphie found herself in the same situation. Sakon grinned down at her again and then went about his business, going through drawers and closets. Selphie and her parents watched helplessly as he took rupees and jewelry and stuffed them into his large sack.

When he was through, Sakon made his way back to the family he'd taken captive. "Well, your home certainly has a number of valuables," he said off-handedly setting his bulging sack on the floor. He walked past Selphie's parents up to Selphie again. Selphie trembled as he kneeled in front of her.

"However, the most priceless treasure in your household most unquestionably must be your lovely daughter," he said. Selphie cringed and jerked away as he lifted his hand, gently stroking her cheek. "Heh," he chuckled. "Perhaps I should leave your valuables and take her instead." Selphie gasped through the cloth in her mouth.

Selphie's father narrowed his eyes and kicked Sakon. "Leave my daughter out of this," he said, though his words were very much muffled by the cloth in his mouth. Sakon seemed amused by this because he chortled to himself.

"Perhaps I'll change my plan for you," he said. He kicked Selphie's father in the stomach, forcing the air from his lungs, and dragged him across the room where, Selphie noticed for the first time, he'd set up his trademark makeshift guillotine.

"No!" Selphie and her mother both screamed through the cloths in their mouths. They were struggling fiercely to free their selves but to no avail. Selphie closed her eyes and tried to concentrate and block everything out, to clear her mind and use the sash's power.

"Say goodbye," Sakon said quietly, leaning over Selphie's father, who could do nothing to get free. Selphie's eyes were closed, but she felt her mother fall over onto her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see what the reason was and saw her father's head beside her foot.

Selphie screamed and curled herself up as far away from the head as possible. The cloth flew from her mouth. "You bastard!" she screamed as her bonds broke.

"What the hell-?" Sakon exclaimed as he was thrown into the wall. With another wave of Selphie's hand, he was trapped beneath a table. She glowered over him, green eyes dark with hatred. "You- you're some kind of freak!" he accused.

"You behead my father and _I'm _the freak?!" she demanded.

"Selphie!" Selphie turned to the front door and saw Van standing in the doorway with several soldiers behind him. The boy had climbed out their bedroom window and run to get the police. He ran to Selphie and she caught him, holding him close.

"Robert Sakon…" first lieutenant of Coulee Village, Sir Keeta, said. "So you've finally been caught."

Sakon was meanwhile sputtering and glaring at Selphie in disbelief. As the officers led him out the door- restraining him from fleeing- Sakon yelled back into the house, "You've got some kind of secret, girl! I'll be damned if I don't find out what it is! And when I do, you'll regret the night you came up against me!"

When they were gone, Van unburied his face from Selphie's nightgown. "He's not going to get you, is he, Selphie?" he asked timidly. Selphie shook her head, her own voice rather choked as a horrible fact finally caught up with her. That's when Van finally saw his father's body beneath the guillotine and gasped. "Selphie… is that…?" he asked looking up at her. Selphie nodded, closing her eyes, several tears leaking from the corners. "NO!" Van cried, burying his face in her nightgown again and soaking it with his tears…

* * *

"Selphie, come look!" Several weeks later Van was sitting at their bedroom window, leaning out and pointing down at the street. Selphie joined him and looked outside. A troupe of Deku, Goron, and Zora guards were marching down the street. "A parade?" 

"No, Van, not a parade," Selphie said quietly, pulling him inside and shutting the window. Van was still pressing his face against the glass to watch the troupe march down the street.

"But look! They've got wagons and stuff. Hey! They've got barred window things! You think they've got a dodongo in there?" Van asked.

"No, Van. It's not a parade," Selphie said. "Those are the soldiers from Woodfall, Snowhead, and Great Bay. They're bringing the traitors for the Elegy of Emptiness." She pointed down to a barred wagon surrounded by Deku people. "That one is probably Dimitra."

"What did she do?" Van asked curiously.

"Er, she was supplying the Jeimjine generals with information about our battle plans. If they hadn't caught her, Jeimjine would be halfway across Termina now."

"Oh…" Van said. "That's bad… What about the Goron and Zora people?"

"The Goron, Mace, was going to kill the Goron army one night," Selphie said.

"How could he do that all in one night?" Van asked.

"He set up powder kegs all around the Goron camp and detonate them while they slept. Not only would it have taken out the whole Goron army, but it would have destroyed the surrounding area," Selphie explained. "And Curt took the Zora king captive and almost killed him. Luckily they stopped him because the Zora army would never have stayed together if they didn't have a leader guiding them." Van pulled away from the window.

"Are they going to do anything bad while they're here?" he asked, leaning on Selphie.

"No," Selphie answered, holding her brother against her. "All of the soldiers will make sure of that."

"Who's the human they're gonna use for that Elegy thing?" Van asked. Selphie closed her eyes and didn't say anything. Van nodded his head. "So he's gonna be gone soon?"

"Gone for good…" Selphie whispered.

"Selphie!" They looked up when they heard their mother calling. Heading downstairs, they found their mother and Sir Keeta sitting at the kitchen table.

"Er… Mom? What's up?" Selphie asked confusedly.

Keeta stood up and bowed slightly to her. "Good afternoon, kids," he said. He sat down again. "I've been sent by the king to invite you to the castle tomorrow to witness the Elegy of Emptiness for the first time."

The family didn't say anything, but stared at him for a moment. "May I ask why?" Selphie's mother asked.

Keeta looked a bit confused, "Well, to see four souls be sacrificed for the Elegy of Emptiness."

"No, she means, why are _we_ invited? I was under the impression that only a select few people were allowed to see that," her mother elucidated.

"Well, your family aided in the capture of Sakon," Keeta explained. "By doing such a service you've been bestowed the honor of seeing the criminal punished."

"To set the record straight, I was fainted on the floor and did nothing to help catch him," Selphie's mother said. "It was all my children's doing."

"Yes, we were quite astonished to find that young Selphie here was able to detain him on her own until we got there. If it hadn't been for her the community may not have had the benefit of his capture." He looked at Selphie with a type of proud smile.

Selphie was silent for a moment. "…Not all the community…" she said avoiding his gaze. Keeta watched her uncertainly for a moment.

"I… everyone sympathizes with your loss," he said awkwardly.

"Thank you, Keeta," Rinoa said, standing and motioning for him to do the same.

"Right then," he said tentatively. At the door he turned to face the family, "Know that you are in no way obligated to come, but understand it is a great honor." Selphie's mother closed the door behind him. She turned to face her children, silently asking their opinion. Van looked curious, though he was tried unsuccessfully to hide it. Selphie noticed and shrugged to her mother.

"_Sigh_. I guess that means we're going," her mother said.

* * *

Arriving at Castle Ikana, Selphie was suddenly very thankful her mother had made her dress up for the occasion. It was more of a party than an execution. Much of the time was not dedicated to the actual event in which noblemen and women from all over Termina celebrated with the Royal Family. Among them were the people that had caught Dimitra, Mace, and Curt, many soldiers, several members of the royal family, and the finest witches and wizards Termina had to offer, including twins Kotake and Koume. There was wine, gossip and song everywhere. They were celebrating a victory; not only the completion of Ikana's defense but the punishment of Termina's most wanted. 

Selphie was searching the room for signs of a familiar face when she heard someone call out her name. She turned around to see Flat forcing his way through the crowd toward her. She waved to him and smiled, though it was rather half-hearted. "Man, I thought I'd never find you in here," he said when he reached her. "This place is packed!"

"Yeah, Keeta said Captain Woodbury's upset; thinks it's a security risk," Selphie replied. "Hey, you didn't tell me you got a new flute for the occasion," she said, noticing the silver flute in his hands.

"Yeah, Sharp got it for me for getting his apprenticeship," Flat announced proudly.

"So you did get it? That's great! You'll be a court composer in no time!" Selphie congratulated him.

"Yup, pretty soon me and Flat will be known as the Composer Brothers, musicians to the king," Flat said. "Hey, wanna get some food?" he asked, pointing to a large buffet table. They got some great cake. These court types really know how to eat."

"I am all for cake," Selphie said, starting in the direction of the table. A few minutes later, as they stood engorging their selves, Selphie asked, "So how does this Elegy thing work again? What do you guys do?"

"Well, Sharp composed all these songs having to do with the removal and replacement of all the souls. He's going to play the Elegy of Emptiness while I play the Mantra of Removal. Meanwhile the witches are gonna work their magic to infuse the songs with their power," he explained. "I'm still not entirely sure how it works, but Kotake and Koume said that--."

"The prisoners have escaped! The prisoners have-- Augh!" Everyone in the room turned to see a guard fall to the floor. Curt, the Zora traitor, stood behind him, wiping blood from one of his sharp fins. Dimitra and Mace stood on either side of him, leering at the crowd.

"Hey, folks!" Curt greeted. The room erupted in chaos. Everyone was running for the exits, shoving each other out of the way, just trying to escape the same fate as the soldier.

"You!" someone grabbed Flat's arm, drawing him up into the air.

"Kotake?" he asked as she pulled him up on her broom with her.

"Koume! Get it right for the gods' sakes!" she corrected. "No time! You and your brother must perform the songs now!"

"Now?!" Flat exclaimed.

"Yes, now!" she answered, flying in Mace's direction, where he was throwing soldiers around like lawn darts. Flat put the flute to his lips, blowing into it. _D A D D A D_, focusing on the Goron. He saw the Goron contort in protest as his soul was removed from his body, leaving an empty husk. They moved on to Curt and finally Dimitra, playing the song and magically taking away their souls

Meanwhile, Sharp played the Elegy of Emptiness on his violin and Kotake, Koume, and the other mages chanted incantations to make the songs work. The souls of the Deku, Goron, and Zora disappeared- transported to a hidden dungeon in the castle called the Core Custody Chamber. The bodies too disappeared, the empty husks fading away from the spells cast by the witches and wizards.

When they were gone many of those present started cheering until suddenly someone shouted out, "What about Sakon?" There was another panic as everyone looked around the room.

"He went this way…!" Leaning in the frame of a side door, a beaten soldier pointed down a hallway.

"Come on!" Koume shouted and zoomed off on her broom, Kotake closely in tow. They flew down the long hallway and could not find any sign of Sakon.

"Get away from me!" they heard someone shout. It came from a door on the hallway.

Inside this room, Selphie had been bound once more and stuck in a corner. She was panicking again, so telekinesis was not an option. Sakon glowered over her. "I'm going to find that secret of yours," he said. "But first, perhaps I'll take advantage of that youthful beauty of yours," he added kneeling down in front of her.

"You fascinate me, do you know that?" he whispered, a lustful smirk on his lips as he again reached up to stroke her cheek. She recoiled at his touch and tightly shut her eyes, trying to concentrate through her fear. Sakon chuckled, lowering his hand toward her waist. "I am especially interested in this sash. Once your gone, I'm sure it will sell for a nice rate at the pawnshop…" he tugged on the sash a bit.

"No!" she cried.

It was then that the door burst down and the sound of a flute being played could be heard. "What the hell-?" Sakon exclaimed spinning around to face Kotake, Koume, Sharp, and Flat. Flat was glaring at him and playing the flute, concentrating on the villain, while his brother played the Elegy of Emptiness and the sorceress sisters worked their magic. Sakon realized what was happening as he began to lose feeling in his body. "NO!" he screamed as his soul was torn from his body. He fought the tearing and moved slowly toward Flat.

"No!" Selphie echoed. Sakon turned just in time to see her wave her arm before he was thrown against the wall. Still unable to move, all he could do was stare at her in astonishment. His eyes suddenly caught sight of the sash again and a look of understanding dawned on his face, splitting it into a smile as he started chuckling maniacally.

"So that's it, is it? I shall remember it well. I'll escape this fate, mark my words. And when I do, _you_, my dear, will be the first one I come after!" he laughed as his soul disappeared from the room and was taken to the Core Custody Chamber for an eternal incarceration. Soon after his body disappeared, and Flat, Sharp, Kotake, and Koume ceased.

Several guards burst in on the scene and were relieved to find that Sakon had been taken care of as well. Selphie was curled up in the corner still, face buried in her knees. As Sharp and the twins explained what happened, Flat walked over to Selphie and crouched in front of her.

"Selphie…?" he whispered. She looked up at him and he saw that her cheeks were shining with tears. "Are you-?" She shook her head. "Aw, man… Selphie, I'm so sorry…" he said, as she put her arms around his neck. "Selphie, he's gone now. You helped catch him again."

Selphie nodded, burying her face in his shoulder. "I didn't want anything to do with him…!" she whimpered. "I didn't want to catch him or play hero! He should have just taken our things and left!" Flat placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. She shook her head and sobbed, "I was so stupid! Why didn't I just stay upstairs?" They didn't do anything. Flat just let her cling to him and cry.

* * *

Selphie and Flat were sitting in the canyon on the cliff by the waterfall with Van a short distance away, tossing rocks into the river below. Following the event in the castle, Selphie had gone into a recluse, hiding in her house for weeks, sulking and wishing she could change what happened, until, after much cajoling from Flat and Van, she'd come out today. 

"How are you doing?" Flat asked tentatively.

"Bad," Selphie replied, letting one leg dangle over the cliff. "I can't convince myself that he's gone, and when I do I still feel like something's around the corner to get me…" She copied her brother and threw a rock over the edge. "I just… can't manage to feel safe here anymore… I wish I could get away… from the memories… someplace I don't have to look over my shoulder all the time…"

"You don't have to look over your shoulder all the time _here_," Flat said. "I mean, there's always the possibility of something happening, but there always was. And not everything is as scary as…" He trailed off as opposed to mentioning the thief's name.

"Y'know, I was supposed to be invincible with this thing," Selphie said, fingering the end of the sash. "Shows how much I know…"

Flat nodded his head. "…Well, this might help too," Flat said, taking out something wrapped in brown paper. "You're mom asked me to give it to you this morning."

"What's this?" Selphie asked.

"Judging from the weight and shape, I'd say it's a boomerang," Flat said as Selphie unwrapped it. It was indeed a boomerang. One end was covered by kind of casing, like scabbard. She turned it over in her hands, studying it. It was bronze-plated but heavy like iron and striped with silver bands. One end that had been in the sleeve was sharpened like a dagger.

"There's something engraved in it," she said, holding the boomerang to her face and examining the silver stripes. She read it aloud, "'Give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to tell the difference between the two.' My dad used to say that…" The last stripe had her father's name on it.

"Your dad's pretty smart," Flat commented.

"It occurs to me that my mom gave me this boomerang so that I would realize I can't keep moping about my father dying because I cannot change what happened," she said. She turned the boomerang over once more. "Ow!" she exclaimed. She'd cut her finger on the sharp edge and was now sucking on it. "Most definitely will help me defend myself," she said, nursing the cut.

"Aw," Flat smirked. "Do you want me to kiss it and make it feel better?" he teased.

"If you so desire," Selphie responded.

"What do I look like; your mom?" he rejoined. Selphie smirked and stood up.

"Hey, Van!" she called to her brother. "I got a boomerang. Wanna see if we can catch a bombchu?"

"Cool!" the little boy exclaimed and dashed over to lead the way. Selphie and Flat grinned and followed to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

* * *

Several months later, it appeared the war would be over soon. The Jeimjine Republic was slowly retreating back to its own country, and Selphie, however undaunted by the war previously, was returning to her carefree self after that brief spell of slightly more care and the bout of despondency after their run-in with Sakon. She was back to exploring anything and everything that showed its self to her. 

For example, one day she and Flat were walking through the canyon again, this time without any Van. They were taking the same path she usually took, but this time she found something that wasn't there before: a large boulder embedded in the canyon wall. "Hey, where'd that boulder come from?" she posed when she saw it.

"What do you mean?" Flat asked, stopping beside her. "It's just a boulder."

"No, but it wasn't there before," Selphie said, walking up to the boulder.

"Maybe there was nothing behind it before; nothing like a Garo hideout or a bombchu nest," Flat countered.

"Hmm… or nothing like a chest full of rupees or-."

"Do you have to go looking for trouble?" Flat demanded.

"Not trouble; adventure," Selphie replied, sliding the boulder over, revealing a cave in the wall. "Let's find out what's in there."

"Let's not and say we did," Flat said. Selphie ignored him. "Ugh… Curiosity really will be your undoing," Flat sulked after her into the dark cave mouth. "Selphie?" he called out, unable to see through the gloom. "Selphie!"

"Whoa! Flat come see this!" he heard her call from up ahead.

"Selphie, I can't see! Can't we just go? Maybe come back later with a lantern or something?" he responded, trying to follow the sound of her voice.

"If you'd come here you might see a little better." She sounded just around the corner.

"You're farther in the cave than I am. There can't possibly be any light." Around the corner Selphie stood in a shaft of light coming from the ceiling. "Okay, so we can see now. And we can see that this is a dead end."

"No way! We're gonna find out where that light's coming from," Selphie said.

"And how are we going to get up there?" Flat posed.

"You're going to give me a boost, and I'll pull you up," Selphie replied.

"I can't hold you up there!" Flat protested.

"You never know until you try. Now come on. I'm not leaving until we at least try this," Selphie declared. Flat scowled for a moment before grumbling over to the patch of light where Selphie stood. "Crouch down so I can stand on your shoulders." Flat groaned but complied, and Selphie stepped up, crouching to keep her balance. "Now stand up nice and slow."

"Thanks, I was thinking I'd do it fast and such, y'know seeing as I'm such a buff guy," Flat strained, rising sluggishly and with much trouble. When he was finally upright, he pleaded, "Selphie, I'm about to die. Please hurry up."

"Okay, I'm almost up," she said, slowly standing. Flat's eyes were watering from the strain, and he thought he saw dancing lights in front of him. There appeared to be a large circular light on the ground before them. "Wait, what's that?" Selphie said suddenly, pointing down toward the circle.

"Selphie, don't!" Her movement through them off balance and the pair began teetering until Selphie tumbled from Flat's shoulders. As to what that circle on the floor was, she would soon find out as she was falling right toward it. Flat had fallen on his rear at this point and had a perfect view of Selphie's landing. When Selphie made contact with the circle on the ground, there was no thud or cry of pain. The light and girl both disappeared.

Flat's eyes widened. "Wha…?!" He jumped to his feet to make sure that what he'd seen was real. "Selphie?" He bounded over to where the light had been. "Selphie?!" There was neither hidden hole nor trap door. "This isn't funny, Selphie!" He jumped up and down on the spot to make it open up like it had for her. When the balls of his feet began to hurt with the jumping, Flat ceased and cried out again. "Selphie! Just come out!"

When he received no answer, Flat finally came to the proper conclusion, and the panic began to well inside of him.

"Oh, gods…"

This was not a trick or joke or prank. This was not Selphie being playful. She would not come out of hiding and laugh at him.

"Oh, gods!" He bolted from the cave, screaming. He yelled and cried for help all the way back to Coulee Village.

Selphie had disappeared, and she was not returning anytime soon.

* * *

Selphie: Just so I don't get flamed for doing a self-insert, I'd like to set the record straight by saying that this actually is not a self-insert fic. The Selphie in the story and the Selphie that is myself are two completely different people. I just like the name is all... Anyway, this was to provide background, not only on the character of Selphie, but on the plot of the story. That's why it's called a prologue! It will all come into play later. I know. I have an outline. ((opens outline document)) See? ((closes outline document)) The next chapter will reintroduce our characters that are original to the game (you should know which one if you read the summary). So please don't flame me yet! Wait until the next chapter or two and then decide whether or not you like it! Just give it a chance!

Tingle: I always give your stories a chance!

Selphie: Get out of my room, loser. (Ish talking to Tingle, not to wonderful reading readery people that read my story because I loves those people and would never call them losers) (Especially if they review!)


	2. Chapter 1

Edit (8/7/07): I did a complete overhaul of the chapter. Now, hopefully, it doesn't read like a 16 year-old wrote it. I think it's better now. I didn't change any major plot points, just a few smaller details. Enjoy.

* * *

Me: Moving fast I am. Back with chapter one I am also. 

Din: Stop talking like Yoda.

Me: Stop invading my author's notes.

Nayru: Stop trying to tell the creators of Hyrule what to do.

Me: Stop... stop... Stop being the creators of Hyrule!

Goddesses: o.O?

Farore: What the hell?

Me: I ran out of ideas. So sue me, I been working on this all day. (let it be noted that summer vacations rock! m/) Anyway, thank you to SuperSmashGal, Bvv, and compman44 for reviewing. I'll answer you question about the fissi en khronos at the end of the chapter because I don't want to spoil anything. Thanks for answering SuperSmashGal's other question for me too, compman44.

Darunia: This is a disclaimer: she doesn't own anything Zelda-fied. You've met the first character she owns, and that would be Selphie.

Tingle: I want to be included-! (is cut off by the beginning of the chapter)

* * *

Chapter 1

Link was grateful to have a bed at sea. Nothing against the King of Red Lions, but it was difficult to get comfortable in the talking boat. And having his own room was something he'd never had before. He'd protested at first, but Tetra insisted that he have his own room when he moved onto the pirate ship. If she had one, then he should, she argued. Link was pretty sure she had her own room because she was captain (and a girl), but she seemed to feel that his Hero status warranted special treatment. He no longer objected, knowing she would win anyway, it being her ship and all. Neither did he really want to be stranded in the ocean, since he didn't have any other mode of seafaring transportation.

He did still miss the King of Red Lions. In the months in which he'd fought for the safety of the Great Sea, Link had come to regard King of Red Lions as a sort of parent figure, going so far as to affectionately dub him Korl. But, the King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, who controlled the boat, had ceased to speak to them after disappearing beneath the waves and becoming trapped in Hyrule once more. For that reason, Link had sailed to the Tower of the Gods in the boat and left him there, opting to travel with the king's descendant instead. Their objective was the same anyway: to fulfill the king's last request: to search for the land that would be the next Hyrule.

Several months had since passed, and in that time, they had sailed as far away from the Great Sea as they were able. As of yet, they had only found more ocean and more islands and no leads on their new quest. But Link was glad for the change of atmosphere. The burden of saving the land… er… sea had been intense, and Link was glad that it was over, that his family was now safe, and that the evil Ganondorf was sealed beneath the sea once more.

The Rito having continued their promise of delivering his mail to the nearest mailbox, Link had received a letter from his sister a few days ago. Grandma had made elixir soup in honor of his thirteenth birthday, even though he wasn't there, and sent a bottle of it. The bottle was already empty and sitting with the other bottles he kept full of fairies, just in case. They were covered in a blanket to prevent the fairy light from keeping him awake, and so far it had worked, as Link was fast asleep.

* * *

"'HOOOY!" Link jolted in his sheets as the voice rang through the ship. It was Zuko, their lookout, calling from above decks. "'Hoy! Man overboard!" Link rolled out of bed, throwing on some boots. Man overboard was never good. He hurried out of his room, the converted treasure hold, into the main below deck area. The rest of the crew was pulling their selves out of the sleeping bags in which they slept. 

"What's going on?" Niko asked as Senza kicked him to wake him up, his ears having been dulled to the sound of shouting for quite some time.

"Someone fell overboard. Best to hurry: if it was Nudge sleep walking again, he'll be needing our help," Gonzo answered, moving for the ladder.

"Oy! I'm right here," Nudge protested. They glanced among their selves, realizing that each pirate was present and accounted for.

"Who's in the water, then?" Senza asked.

"I say we right it off as Zuko sleep talking," Mako suggested, about to lie down again.

"You idiot! What if it's Miss Tetra! Come on, mates!" Gonzo said, leading the way up to the deck. "Who's in the water, Zuko?"

"Some girl--."

"Miss Tetra!!!" Gonzo exclaimed leaping over the railing into the water.

"Idiot…" Niko muttered.

"What's Gonzo doing?" Tetra asked, appearing next to Link.

"Saving you," Link answered.

"Uh-huh… He must be doing a good job, seeing as I'm not in any danger," Tetra replied.

Link was about to reply when he was interrupted by a scream, a young lady's scream. The pirates looked to Tetra, but the screaming continued and she obviously wasn't the source. "Get your hands off me! Who are you?" Everyone ran over to the railing to find the cause of the ruckus. "Let go!"

"You were unconscious!" Gonzo tried to defend to the screaming person: a young girl, who he was holding in his arms as he waded onto shore of the island where they'd anchored. The girl continued to thrash wildly, trying to get away, panic clear on her face.

"'Hoy!" Tetra called to the two. "Calm down!" Gonzo and the girl both looked toward her. While Gonzo was distracted, the girl kicked him in the chin, causing him to drop her. She made to run away but quickly met the other side of the island. "Oh, for crying out loud," Tetra muttered to herself, retying her robe closed as she grabbed a rope and climbed over the railing. When Gonzo had recovered he turned back to her and she hid behind the lone palm on the island.

"Just take it easy," Gonzo asked.

"Stay away!" she ordered, pulling a boomerang out from the red sash tied around her waist.

"Hey! Girl!" Tetra said. The girl turned to face her but did not come out from her "hiding place." "Look, just calm down. Gonzo was only trying to help."

"Gonzo?" the girl asked. Gonzo waved from across the beach. The girl shivered visibly, soaked from head to foot in salty sea water.

"Would you like to come on to our boat?" Tetra offered.

The girl looked up at the boat and saw the rest of the pirates. Her eyes took on a wide, frightened look and she stammered, "I-- who are-- where am-- boat?" She looked around, truly taking in her surroundings for the first time and realizing she was in the middle of an open body of water. "Where am I?" she asked.

"Well, if the sea chart is any indication--."

"Sea chart? How did I end up in the Great Bay region?" the girl asked, slowly coming around from the tree to confront her.

"Great Bay--?" Tetra asked confusedly.

"And where are the Jeimjine soldiers?"

"Jeimjine?"

"Who are you?" she asked again. Tetra looked over to Gonzo, but he obviously didn't have a clue. "Look, my name's Tetra. I'm captain of this pirate ship, and--."

"Pirates?!" the girl exclaimed. "Stay away! I don't have anything you'd want!" she yelled brandishing the boomerang.

"Whoa! Calm down! We're not that kind of pirates!" Tetra exclaimed as the girl backed away from her again. And as she backed into the palm, the tree began shaking, and the girl fell unconscious again as a coconut made hollow contact with her head.

* * *

Niko was having trouble getting comfortable. 

After the coconut hit her, Gonzo carried the girl onto the ship and they'd put her below decks. Not wanting to place her on the floor, Tetra ordered the pirates clear the table and put her there. She was still soaking wet and cold, so they'd covered her with a blanket. Senza had volunteered Niko's sleeping bag. After a few hours, the girl still hadn't awoken, and they'd decided it would be best to sleep and have someone stay awake to keep an eye on her. Senza volunteered Niko, seeing as he didn't have a sleeping bag anyway.

"Jerk…" Niko grumbled, thinking about it. He was leaning back in one of the wooden chairs they used for eating. He balanced it on the back two legs while he propped his legs up on the table. It was not very comfortable. And the uncomfortableness of the position was only enhanced by his irk at his shipmates. It was unfortunate that he was so mad at them, because he was actually rather curious about the girl. She hadn't been there when they'd anchored the night before, nor when he'd closed all the portholes before bed. So, how had she gotten there in the interim? He thought about all of these beneath his irritation…

Suddenly Niko was startled from his sulking when the girl abruptly stirred and sat up on the table. She blinked in the darkness and seemed to realize her head hurt. "What happened…?" she mumbled, rubbing her head where the coconut had hit her.

"You were assaulted by flying fruit," Niko replied, lifting his feet from the table and letting the front legs of his chair hit the floor. She turned to see him and started to back away, almost falling off the table. "Oy, take it easy. You wanna wake the whole ship?"

"Why would you care?" the girl asked, letting herself down from the table.

"You kidding? I'd take the heat for waking everyone," Niko replied. The girl glanced behind him to the pirates sleeping on the floor.

"Where am I?" she demanded.

"Moonshine Archipelago, I think," Niko replied, leaning on the table.

"What? That's not even _in_ the Great Bay region," she responded.

"We're not in the Great Sea," Niko said.

"I said _bay_," the girl corrected. "Great Bay, where the Jeimjine military should be right now."

"I hate to break it to you, but there's no such thing as a Jangling army," Niko told her.

"Don't lie. They invaded the country three years ago. You can hear the cannons all the way to the canyon," she answered. A look of comprehension appeared on her face. "You're spies!"

"What?" Niko laughed incredulously. "Kid, you must have swallowed a bit too much sea water. There is no war."

The girl stood there for a moment. Then she stared at him suspiciously, looking for any sign of untruth. Niko felt awkward with her watching him like that. Suddenly her face softened and she looked away, lost in thought. "But if I'm not in Great Bay, then I must be completely out of the country… and how could I have gotten here? I was in that cave with--." Her eyes widened in panic and Niko looked around startled.

"What?" he asked.

"Flat!" she exclaimed.

"Who?" Niko asked.

"My friend! I was with him when I was knocked out!" Selphie said. "Where is he now?"

"You were the only one we found," Niko replied.

"What if he's hurt or unconscious or, or--!"

"Whoa! Shh!" Niko held up his hands to quiet her, looking back at the pirates, some of whom were stirring. "Freaking out like that isn't gonna help anyone."

"But--!"

"I'm sure he's fine!" Niko tried to assure her. "I mean, you were okay when we found you, so he's probably okay too, right?" She didn't look certain. "Right?"

"I… guess…"

Niko nodded, and then something hit him. "By the way, what's your name?"

The girl looked surprised at the question but must have realized that she, in fact, had not introduced herself. "My name's Selphie."

"All right. Pretty name… for a girl, that is. I'm Niko," he said, holding one hand out. She glanced at it uncertainly before taking it and shaking.

"What's going to happen to me now?" Selphie asked.

Niko shrugged, "I don't know. You'll have to talk to Miss Tetra and Link about that. Oh, yeah! They wanted me to wake them when you woke up."

"Why didn't you do that to begin with?" Selphie inquired.

"Perhaps you don't recall, but you were freaking out when you woke up. Didn't figure you should be left alone," Niko replied. Selphie nodded, what may have been a hint of a smile or a trick of the moonlight flitting across her face. "I'll just go get them now," he said, making to stand up.

"Wait," she stopped him. "…Never mind," she said, glancing nervously at the other pirates. Niko followed her gaze.

"…I guess I don't _have_ to get them if you don't want to yet," Niko said.

"Won't you get in trouble?" Selphie asked.

"Eh, I figure you've been through enough as it is. How's your head, by the way?" Niko responded, sitting down again.

"Oh, uh, better, I guess," Selphie answered, reaching up to where she'd been hit. She was still standing, wrapped up in his sleeping bag.

"…You can sit down, you know," he said. Selphie realized she was still standing and sat in a chair across the table from him. Niko smirked slightly. "So, where _are_ you from, anyway? You mentioned a canyon and a bay. Seems you'd have to be from a continent to have that stuff."

"Well, yeah, Termina's on the mainland. I thought everyone knew that," Selphie responded.

"Hey, I didn't even know about that war you were talking about," Niko replied.

"That's really weird. Termina isn't the first place Jeimjine has invaded. They have a whole empire formed," Selphie said.

"Not out here," Niko countered, leaning his chair back again. "Everything's been peaceful for a while now."

"Must be nice. You can't even take a walk by the river without looking over your shoulder. If it's not Jeimjine spies, it's the Garo declaring 'Death to Ikanans!'"

"Ikana?!" _Thump!_ Selphie started as Niko and the chair hit the floor. The pirates started, too, but they were less friendly about it.

"Niko! You woke us up, you dolt!" Nudge griped, making his way over to him, and lifting him up by the back of the shirt.

"B-but--!" Niko stammered, pointing at Selphie, who was highly confused and nervous again at being confronted by the large Gonzo, Senza, and Nudge.

"What's going on, guys?" they looked up to see Link exiting from his room.

"Selphie's awake!" Niko answered quickly. The pirates seemed to notice her for the first time.

"Why didn't you say so?" Nudge asked, dropping him roughly to the floor. Niko "hmph"ed in response while Link joined them. He walked over to Selphie and held out his hand.

"I'm Link," he said. "I guess your name's Selphie?"

"Yeah… are you the captain?" she asked, tentatively taking his hand.

"Captain? Oh, no, that's Tetra. I'm not even a pirate," Link replied.

"No lie?" Link shook his head. Selphie visibly relaxed. "You don't need to worry about these guys though. They're big softies really. I left my little sister with them for months and they took good care of her." The pirates smiled unthreateningly and waved. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh… hard to say," she answered slowly.

"Not surprising. You were floating in the middle of nowhere, basically," Link said.

"Not to worry. We'll drop you off at whatever sand spit you're from." Tetra was entering from the other side of the room. "Sorry to scare you like that, but we couldn't very well leave you to drown, now could we?"

"I suppose not," Selphie replied.

"Right, then. I'm Tetra. This here's my crew. Oy! Introduce yourselves!" she ordered.

"Gonzo."

"Mako."

"Nudge."

"Senza." Each pirate introduced his self in turn.

"Niko! You didn't introduce yourself!" Tetra said impatiently.

"We've, eh, met…" Niko answered. Gonzo smacked him in the back of the head for not following orders.

"All right, so I take it you'll be wantin' to get back to yer island, right? Where're you from?" Tetra asked.

"…I'm not from an island. I'm from Coulee Village in Ikana," Selphie replied.

"Ikana?" Tetra repeated. She glanced over at Link, but he shrugged, unfamiliar with the name as well. "Well, I'm all for new places. Where's Ikana? Could you point it out on the sea chart?"

"I don't think so. Ikana's a canyon country. The only sea is on the other side of Termina," Selphie answered. Tetra surveyed her unwitting passenger, thinking she'd swallowed too much sea water. "Niko seemed to recognize the name. Maybe he could help?" Selphie offered.

Niko froze as the attention turned to him. "Niko, eh? Not likely; he barely recognizes his own name," Nudge jostled Niko a bit.

"Oy, what are you blokes standing around for? Get to work. Sun's up, get to sailing," Tetra ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!" the pirates all made their way toward the upper deck.

"Niko! Get back here," Tetra commanded, stopping Niko from following.

"Do you know where Ikana is, Niko?" Link asked, when he'd returned.

Niko was silent for a moment, not wanting to say anything in case he was mistaken. "Well?" Tetra prompted.

"Ehm… well, my dad told me I'm part Ikanan way, way back, like they were my ancient ancestors or something," Niko replied.

"…Ancient ancestors, Niko?" Tetra asked skeptically.

"Hey, that's what my dad told me!" Niko maintained, holding his hands up defensively.

"That doesn't make sense," Selphie concurred. "I mean, Ikana's not that old. A couple hundred years, maybe, but it's not ancient."

"Um, I think it's older than you think. Ikana was next to Hyrule, right?" Niko inquired uncertainly.

"Yeah, Hyrule's a bit farther east of us--."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What?" Tetra broke in.

"That's not possible," Link said.

"Of course it is. Our king visited Hyrule when my parents were--," Selphie explained.

"No, I mean it's possible that's where Ikana is, but you couldn't possibly be from there," Link elaborated.

"Why would I lie about something like that?" Selphie asked.

"You wouldn't, it's just that it's physically not possible for you to be from Ikana if it's next to Hyrule," Link said.

"Because Hyrule is at the bottom of the ocean," Tetra added.

Selphie stared at them. "…You're… you're joking, right?"

"No, we've been down to Hyrule. It's definitely underwater," Tetra replied. Selphie stared blankly. "You're definitely not from around here."

"That's what I've been telling you!"

"Not like that. I mean, no one these days knows about Hyrule, let alone any neighboring kingdoms," Tetra explained.

"It was all forgotten in the centuries since the Great Rain," Link added.

"There's no Great Rain. What are you talking about?" Selphie asked.

"Kid, did you get a good look at the world out there? It's not made of canyons; it's made of ocean. Lots and lots of ocean," Tetra said. "The world was flooded in a rain storm and became what it is now."

"But… that's not possible. I was just in Ikana. Hundreds of years would have to pass for it to--," Selphie cut off suddenly. "Oh… oh, gods."

"What?" Link asked.

"That… that light on the ground. I knew there was something weird about it," Selphie stammered to herself.

"What light on the ground?" Link asked.

"It was this big circle on the ground with lights coming out of it. I was standing on Flat's shoulders, and then we fell, and I woke up here," Selphie rambled.

"Whoa, slow down there," Tetra broke in. "What are you trying to--?"

"What year is it?" Selphie exclaimed.

"_What?_"

"What year is it? Is it 658?" Selphie asked.

"No, it's 1656," Tetra replied. She was silent for a moment before the realization hit her. "Wait, you're almost a thousand years off. What the heck is going on here?"

"I… I think I…" Selphie stuttered.

"…Traveled through time?" Link offered. Selphie looked to him with big eyes. Link looked to Tetra, "Remember what the King said about the Hero of Time?"

"Link, he used the Master Sword. All I see on this one is a boomerang," Tetra replied.

"Yeah, but that proves that it's possible," Link countered. "If we're all telling the truth, then what other explanation is there?"

"I'm not s--. You okay, kid?" Tetra glanced to see Selphie holding her head between her hands, a look of severe confusion on her face. And then she fainted. "…I guess that means she was telling the truth," Tetra said, looking to Link.

"I don't think it's coincidence she landed near us," Link said, moving around to Selphie. "Hey, Niko," he waved his hand to get Niko to help.

"You think we're supposed to help her get home?" Tetra asked, as the two boys moved Selphie back to the table.

"I think we're supposed to help each other," Link said.

"Hmm… she is from the past. Imagine what she might know about the lands at the bottom of the ocean, including Hyrule," Tetra mused.

"Exactly," Link replied.

Tetra smiled, "She could help us find the new land." Link nodded. "About time we got a little help." She glanced back at Selphie and sized her up. "We'll bunk her in my room, but I don't take on dead weight. She's gonna have to do some work around here."

"She doesn't look cut out for pirate work," Niko commented, drawing their attention. "Er, I'll just get to my work," he mumbled, backing away to start his chores.

"Hmm…" Tetra hummed, considering him. "Of course, you weren't much for pirate work either, Link," she said. Then she looked back to Niko, "Niko, meet your new swabbie."

* * *

It didn't take long for Selphie to grow accustomed to the new world she was in. If Flat thought Selphie was adventurous, he might have been scandalized by the ventures Tetra had undertaken. Link was quiet and welcoming, and the other pirates were happy to have an extra hand, even if they were unsure how to act around girls who weren't captain. Food and shelter were definite perks, but it seemed she paid that back with the information she shared about Hyrule and Ikana and the old world in general. She was never quite sure how much it would help them, but they seemed to appreciate her stories all the same. All in all, life at sea was much more interesting than life in the canyon, even if she spent most of her time below deck with Niko. If nothing else, she formed a fast friendship with her fellow Ikanan-- even if he was only so by distant descent. 

One day, for example, Niko was washing the windows whilst Selphie mopped the floor below decks. All these chores used to be solely Niko's duty, but since Selphie's arrival, he'd been able to delegate some of the work to her. He might have traded duties, but someone had to wash the windows, and Selphie still hadn't mastered swinging from lamp to lamp, a skill quite necessary for reaching the high up windows. He finished wiping down the last window and was about to dump the dirty water out of his bucket when he heard Zuko shout above them.

"Oy! Island! …Up ahead! …And it's got …a town!" The pirates all ran to the side of the ship Niko happened to be on and leaned over the railing so that they could see the island. Niko leaned out to get a better look, glancing to Selphie, who was listening as well.

"How far off is it, Zuko?" Link called up to the crow's nest.

Zuko pulled out his telescope and leaned over the crow's nest. After staring through it a few seconds, he yelled, "I'd say about …twelve miles …east-northeast!"

"Excellent," Tetra grinned. "We can arrive there just around time to drop anchor and spend the night there."

"Hooray!" all the pirates on deck shouted.

"Woo…hoo…" Niko said, sarcastically twirling his finger as he leaned on his elbow.

"What's wrong?" Selphie asked. "Wouldn't you be happy to get out on the island?"

"Sure I would, but I don't get to go out; I have to stay and watch the ship," Niko replied.

"Eh?" Gonzo said above. He looked down and saw Niko hanging out the window. "Oy! Niko!" he called down.

"Gah!" Niko jumped at hearing his name and looked up to see Gonzo staring down at him.

"What're you doing? Yer s'posed to be washing windows down there!" Gonzo shouted.

"I finished the windows!" Niko answered.

"Aye, but did you do the rest of yer work down there? Like dust the table, eh?" Gonzo posed.

"What do I need to dust the table for?" Niko asked. "You're all going out tonight! You won't be eating on it!"

"Does that excuse you from doing it?" Gonzo put.

"Eh…" Niko muttered, looking away.

"Well, then get on it!" Niko rolled his eyes and pulled himself back inside. Before closing the window, he tied a rope to the bucket and hung it out the window, filling it with more water. Then he pulled it up and took a sponge, making his way down to the table.

"So, if you have to stay tonight, then will I have to, too?" Selphie asked.

Niko began scrubbing the table, "Probably not. Miss Tetra'll probably let you out since you're not really a pirate." Selphie nodded and continued to mop.

About an hour later, they were both almost done with their chores when the other pirates came barreling below decks. "Night on the town, here I come!" Senza shouted, heading for his trunk.

"What're you gonna do tonight, Gonzo?" Nudge asked, digging through his trunk for his wallet.

"I'm gonna find the best café in town and order the biggest, best dinner they have," Gonzo answered, swinging his wallet by the drawstring.

"Oy, Niko, why aren't you getting ready?" Senza asked, seeing Niko sit at the table.

"What're you talking about?" Niko shrugged. "I have to stay and watch the ship."

"Nah, you got Selphie to do that now," Senza replied.

Niko dropped his sponge. "Wait, what?" He glanced over to Selphie, who caught his look and went back to scrubbing the stove.

"Change yer shirt, grab yer purse, and let's go," Senza said as he and the other pirates abandoned them to have their good time. As they disappeared, Niko's eyes only continued to widen. "Let's go," Senza said. A night on the town-- Niko had never had a night out, not in all his time on the ship. The excitement started to sweep into him as the realization hit him. His first night out ever.

"Did you hear that?!" he exclaimed turning to face Selphie. "I get to go out! I don't have to stay on the ship!" His excitement quickly drained as he looked over at Selphie, who seemed intent on her cleaning. After a bit of silence, she spoke up.

"What are you waiting for? It's your first night out in years, isn't it?"

Niko nodded, biting the inside of his cheek. When he'd changed his shirt and collected his purse, he started for the ladder but paused, turning back to Selphie, who was still scrubbing the same spot on the stove. "You sure you can handle it? Watching the ship, I mean."

"Oh, yeah," she replied. "Password's 'Hammerhead,' door stays locked, it's all pretty straight forward, I guess. You go on and have fun." She was much too convincing, but the call of the town was tantalizing, and Niko tried to ignore the nagging guilt in his gut as he climbed the stairs and walked out the cabin door.

Selphie listened to his footsteps across the deck overhead and disappear as he left the ship. Staring at the spot she'd been scrubbing for the last ten minutes, she sighed. It wasn't that she really wanted to go out and explore the town-- on the contrary, she doubted it had anything she hadn't seen in Coulee or Ikana Village--; she just wasn't used to being singled out, alone. Not to mention, even if there was something new, she wasn't sure she was really ready for the towns of the future.

They had plenty of food, and Selphie doubted if they meant for her to starve while she watched the ship. Scanning the shelves, she spotted nothing that she could make on her own, never really having learned how to cook. It seemed a shame to use the stove when she'd just spent so much time cleaning it anyhow. Settling on a small loaf of bread, Selphie dropped herself into a chair at the table and partook of her feast. She took her time, trying to make it last and make the night move faster. When she'd finally finished, she looked up at a clock on the wall. Only fifteen minutes had passed.

Selphie folded her arms on the table and put her chin down on them, staring at that clock. She didn't know them all very well, but at the very least, the pirates helped pass the time. She continued to watch the clock for a few more minutes, timing how long she could go without blinking. Forty seconds… a minute… a minute twenty-eight… four minutes thirty-six seconds… seven minutes-- that had to be some kind of record. After ten minutes, she blinked, and when she opened her eyes, someone was knocking on the door, calling.

Selphie was startled out of her chair and looked wildly about for the clock. It had definitely been more than ten minutes. She leapt from the chair and dashed up the ladder and stairs, yelling, "Coming!" to the person outside. "Wh-who can pound a nail with his head?" she asked, short of breath.

"Hammerhead," came the voice on the other side. Selphie unlocked and opened the door to find Niko standing on the other side. There was a paper bag in his hands.

"Niko? What are you doing? Did you forget something?" Selphie greeted him.

"Yeah, I forgot how much help you've been, and I forgot how to treat my friends. But I remembered," he replied, grinning as he held up the paper bag.

"Niko, that's nice and all, but you really don't have to give up your night off just for me," Selphie shook her head, pushing him toward the door.

"I still get my night off. I'm just spending it indoors instead of in that dumb old town. Besides, the food was the only thing worth checking out," he smirked, pushing his way back in. "Come on, I can't finish all of this, and the leftovers won't keep. It looked like good stuff. Some local recipe called 'old clothes.' Smells like cucco and potatoes in there--."

He'd made it to the stairs before he realized she hadn't followed. Turning back, he asked, "What's the matter? Are you allergic to cucco?" Selphie choked on her snicker and merely smiled, shaking her head. "What?"

"Nothing," she replied, following him to the stair. "Let's just eat." They ate the "old clothes," laughing and joking and generally having a good time despite being "stuck" on the ship.

"Hey, we've got all night. Why don't you try to master the lantern thing?" Niko suggested some time after they'd finished eating.

"Niko, do you even remember what happened last time I tried that?" Selphie responded, thinking of the pain her tail-end received when she landed last time. "I think it'd be better just to leave the windows to you."

"Where's the fun in that? Besides, swinging on ropes is a pretty useful trick when you're a pirate. Not only can you clean windows, but it often makes for a quicker getaway," Niko cajoled.

"Except I'm not a pirate," Selphie pointed out.

"But you're living like one," Niko returned. Selphie considered this before she let Niko drag her up the ladder. "So, this might be a little harder for you to start out than it was for Link because you don't have any boxes to jump to, but we don't have much of a choice."

"All right, all right, just tell me what to do," Selphie said, staring at the rope nervously.

"Okay," Niko replied. "All you have to do to start is jump to that rope and grab on. Balance yourself on the lantern and hold on until I give you more instructions."

"Wait for instructions? What makes you think I'll last that long?" she asked.

"Well, you're gonna have to if you plan to master this," he replied. "Besides, you made it that far last time anyway, and now you know not to put your foot in the flame." Selphie looked at the lantern swinging in front of her and looked back at Niko uncertainly. He motioned her forward, and she focused on the lantern again. Screwing up her courage and getting a small running start, she leapt from the platform to the rope, grabbing with both hands and holding on for dear life as she tried to get her footing on the lantern.

"Okay, I'm hanging on a lantern with nothing to keep me from falling," she declared tremulously. "What do I do now?" she asked, not daring to try to turn and look in his direction.

"All right, now just swing back and forth in the direction of the nearest lantern. When you've built up enough momentum, shift yourself so that you can jump to it. Then grab on just like you did this first one. The closest should be that one to the left," Niko instructed, pointing to a lantern toward the left somewhere.

Grasping the rope firmly, she twisted her head around to see where he was pointing: another lantern hanging a good ten feet away. "You're joking, right?" Niko shook his head. She held tightly to the rope, slowly rotating to face the next lantern.

"All right, now swing," Niko instructed. Selphie gave a little jerk to the rope. "Swing! Come on! All right!" She'd managed to build enough momentum to come within two feet of the next lantern. "Okay, now jump! …Jump! …Any time now! …What?! I thought you were brave!"

"I am! Mostly!" she retorted.

"Then jump!" The ship gave a small lurch, and, startled, Selphie let go of her rope. Squeaking in fright, she instinctively grabbed for the next one. The next thing she knew, she was hanging on the second lantern. "I did it!"

"Good, now try the next one! Swing!" Niko coached. Full of renewed confidence, Selphie turned herself and swung for the next rope, and the next one. "You're doing great! Try to get all the away across to Link's room!" Selphie continued from rope to rope, Niko shouting encouragement from across the room until-.

"Ack!" she cried. She missed and fell to the floor below.

"Jeez!" Niko exclaimed jumping down and running over. "You okay? Anything broken?" But Selphie was laughing. "At least your pride's still in tact. That was pretty good for a second time," Niko congratulated.

"I can't believe it!" Selphie exclaimed. "I really did it!"

"Well, you'll need a little more practice, but you've definitely got a good start," Niko replied, grinning at his protégé. Selphie grinned and threw her arms around his neck. Niko, who had never so much as been poked by a girl turned beet red.

* * *

Tingle: Now can I be included? 

Me: No.

Tingle: Aw... (exit via sparkly confetti stuff)

Me: Just so you guys know, fissi en khronos is supposed to mean fissure or hole in time. I took the old English, Latin, or whatever the words fissure and chrono are derived from and tried to make it look like the Garo were speaking a different language. Mainly because I didn't want it revealed exactly what happened to her yet. But now you guys can all know, she got thrown almost a millennium into the future. Though my friend keeps telling me otherwise, at least for the purpose of this story, the people in the Zelda world do count years. I hope everybody enjoyed my view on Niko. I dunno why, but I always liked him. I felt so bad for him during Wind Waker! So, I gave him a bigger part in my story. And for the record, he, Tetra, Link, and Selphie are all about the same age in my fic because that's the way I wanted it to work. :P R&R, guys! I like reviews!


	3. Chapter 2

Edit (5/31/08): I did a complete overhaul of the chapter. Now, hopefully, it doesn't read like a 16 year-old wrote it. I think it's better now. Looks like I managed to change some medium-sized plot points this time, though. And, I managed to make it so long that it has to be split in two, so all of the other chapters are going to have to be shifted up one. It's bound to be confusing, but, well, there's nothing much to be done about it. Just be sure to read all the changes and enjoy!

* * *

Me: Yay! Another chapter!

Din: Well, call her butter, cause she's on a roll.

Nayru: We won't take up too much time because we know you all want to read the next part of the story.

Farore: Surprising, ne? We usually try to sabotage Selphie Louise's work.

Me: Yeah, time's up. Thank you to my reviewers: compman44, kat- SageOfWisdom-princessZel, SuperSmashGal, and Bvv. I'm glad you guys liked my take on the lowest rung of the pirate ladder. And to kat...Zel: thanks for the congrats, I remember you from Silver's last chappie. Anyway, I'll let Darunia do the disclaimer then.

Darunia: She doesn't own anything Zelda-fied-.

Tingle: The only character thus far that she owns is Selphie.

Me: Get the hell out of my disclaimer, or I'll let compman44 use that fairy- seeking rocket launcher!

Tingle: OO! Eep! (runs away)

* * *

Chapter 2

"I'll hand it to ya. You settled yourself in right quick," Tetra said one night.

"I don't waffle around for the sake of awkwardness," Selphie smirked, turning down the sheets. She and Tetra were each changing into their nightclothes. Selphie had been given a space in Tetra's room because, frankly, it wouldn't have been appropriate for her to sleep with all the guys. Link had offered to convert his room for her, but Selphie declined, feeling it unfair. Besides, it had been a long time since Tetra had had the female company.

Tetra laughed with her new companion. "Good thing. I don't take just anyone on my ship, and I certainly don't take on pussyfooters," she smirked.

"So I won't be keelhauled for throwing a pillow at you when you snore, then?" Selphie teased.

"No, but you might get hit with one for saying so." Selphie turned her head to respond but was met by a flying cushion.

"Hey!" and she threw it back. The two laughed loudly as a small war commenced. And when Link came in to see what all the noise was, he too received a face full of pillow. He quickly turned and walked back out.

"What's going on in there?" Gonzo asked as Link crossed the room to reach his own quarters.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Goodnight."

Not two minutes later Link was called back from his room by Tetra's shouting, "Link! Come here!" When he got there, she greeted him with an order. "Look at what Selphie can do." He turned to watch their new friend but was quickly distracted by the pillow floating between them.

"Huh?" he blurted, looking at it as it started to weave around them, apparently directed by Selphie. "How…?"

"Right after you left, I threw another pillow at her, but it changed direction in mid-air and came back at me, and before I could comment on how weird it was, Selphie started apologizing for using telekinesis!" Tetra rambled.

"You have telekinesis?!" Link exclaimed.

"Only when I wear my sash," Selphie clarified, indicating the red sash around her waist.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Tetra asked.

"Well, back home it was a secret, because if Mom found out I talked to a Garo, I would have been grounded for life," Selphie explained.

"'Grounded?'" Tetra repeated confusedly.

"What's a Garo, and why would your mom ground you for talking to one?" Link asked.

"The Garo were a clan of ninjas that hated Ikana and wanted to destroy it," Selphie answered. "I talked to this one because he was injured. He was nice, though, and he didn't hate Ikanans."

"Hold on a second. I don't understand," Tetra halted her.

"What's not to understand? A nice Garo gave me my sash, and now I have telekinetic powers," Selphie said.

"Yeah, but what's 'grounded?'"

* * *

"Oy! …Island …ahead! …It has …a giant… shell!" Zuko shouted one day.

"Did you say giant shell?" Link called up from the deck.

"…Aye!" Zuko called back.

"That's a Great Fairy island," Link told Tetra.

"I take it ya wanna stop?" she asked.

"Well, they've given me pretty good stuff in the past," Link answered. "Also, it's been a long time since I swapped out fairies. The ones in my room have been in those bottles for months. I'd like to let them out."

"Gotcha. All right, boys! Let's make a beeline for that island!" Tetra ordered.

"Aye-aye!" the pirates shouted. As they pulled up to the small island, Link climbed over the railing, jumped into the water, and waded to the shore. Circling the island, he saw two things: a large boulder covering a hole in the shell and a wiggling red mailbox. He decided to go in to the fountain first and lit the fuse on one of his bombs, dropping it in front of the boulder and backing to a safe distance. When the explosive had destroyed the rock, Link jumped into the hole where it had stood.

The cave in which he found himself was well-lit by the torches burning on either side of the large scallop-shaped fountain across the room. A small, lone fairy hovered over the water at first, but a burst of light replaced it with a woman of pearly features and four arms. "Greetings, child. You have travelled far. For your efforts, I bestow you with an object of great rarity and value." The great fairy cupped two hands together, revealing a lotus blossom when she opened them again. When she blew the petals through the room, a small round object dropped into Link's hand.

"What is it?" he asked, holding it up to examine it.

"It is a stop watch." Link's face fell. A stop watch? He pressed a little button on the side, and sure enough, a lid opened to reveal a small time-piece with two buttons for keeping time. His neighbor, Abe, had one remarkably similar to it back on Outset. "Use it well," she charged him before exiting in another flash of light.

As many smaller fairies filled the fountain, Link closed the stop watch and shoved it to the bottom of his pack, thinking that was the best use it would be. 'Well, it might make a good gift for someone,' he shrugged, as he released the fairies from their bottles. The fairies flitted and fluttered about every which way above the water. He'd scooped two new ones into his empty bottles when another fairy zipped not a foot from his face in the other direction. Instinctively, he lifted one hand to swat away and managed to catch her in the bottle that hand held. Sweeping a fairy into his last bottle, Link turned and crossed the chamber to the light from the entrance.

Once back outside, Link made his way to the mailbox, which was still wiggling and bouncing, indicating that he had mail within. Link peeked inside to see two envelopes. The first was from Aryll, Link's little sister. She had written to describe her triumphs with a seagull and a hyoi pear; apparently she'd managed to send the gull all the way to Headstone Island, fly around, and come back to Outset. Link was certainly impressed-- the last time he'd used a hyoi pear to control a seagull, it wouldn't go farther than a few hundred meters from the island. Then again, no one quite had Aryll's way with animals, especially seagulls.

The second letter was from Komali, the Prince of the Rito, who had become, more or less, Link's best friend. Ever since Link helped the young Rito to acquire his wings, the two had been good buds. It was at Link's encouragement that Komali had finally gotten up the nerve to tell Medli how he felt about her. Medli was another young Rito with whom Link was friends. She was also the Sage of Earth, who helped Link restore power to the Master Sword and save the Great Sea. The last he'd heard from either of them was a month ago when Komali declared that he would tell Medli that he liked her. According to the letter Link now held, she returned his feelings, and they were officially "boyfriend and girlfriend." Link snickered and shook his head, thinking he'd have to tease them the next time he saw them.

"Oy! Aren't you done yet?" Link turned to see Tetra calling over the railing.

"Coming!" he answered and made his way back to the pirate ship to share the news and set sail once more.

* * *

"I'm bored."

The scene was actually rather comical. Niko sat with his feet up on the table, chair leaned back, with his head hanging flaccidly over the back. It wouldn't be so funny, but across the table, Selphie's posture perfectly mimicked his. The two were below decks watching the ship one evening while the other pirates were enjoying the island they'd found. Niko had gone out to get some dinner, but there wasn't much to do since they'd finished eating. After several long minutes of nothing, Selphie declared her boredom.

"Well, what do you wanna do?" Niko asked.

"I dunno. What's there to do?" Selphie responded.

"I dunno. Staring contest?" Niko replied.

"Boring," Selphie answered.

"I dunno what to tell you," Niko said.

"Well, what do you usually do when you're stuck watching the ship?" Selphie asked.

"I dunno. It used to be that I actually had to keep watch for them to come back with treasure or something, but we haven't done any pillaging in almost a year," Niko responded.

"Well, what have you done in the last year?" Selphie asked.

"Um…" 'I built castles out of the blankets and chairs and pretended to be a king,' he thought. "Slept mostly."

"I'm not sleepy," Selphie groaned.

"What do you want? I've never had to entertain anyone but myself before? Except the time I made that paper cutout thing…," he said. An idea hit him, and he sat up, saying, "I've got an idea! We can make paper cutouts telling about how you joined us!"

"Huh?" Selphie sat up as well as Niko hopped out of his chair and went to dig through the small crate containing his few possessions.

"A while back I made some paper cutouts about Link and Tetra and how they beat Ganondorf. Here they are!" he declared, pulling out about ten plaques from beneath a pile of clothes. He brought them back to the table and handed them to Selphie. "We could do the same thing for your story!"

"Hmm…," Selphie hummed as she looked through the pictures.

"Come on, there's nothing else to do," he urged her, as she passed them back.

Considering the truth in this, Selphie shrugged and declared, "Okay." Looking back later, she couldn't remember having more fun with scissors and glue.

* * *

"A long time ago, in a village in a canyon, lived a girl named Selphie. She was a sweet and curious girl." It was after dinner, and the pirates were gathered around Selphie and Niko. As Niko narrated, she held up a picture of herself in the canyon.

"One day, she was taking a walk when she found a Garo ninja." She held up the next picture: the Garo handing her the sash. "He was a good Garo, though, and he gave her a sash that gave her special powers. She practiced her new abilities in secret until one night…"

The next picture was of Selphie and Sakon. "A thief called Sakon broke into her house and threatened her family! Selphie was scared, but that didn't stop her! She used her power to defeat him, and--," Selphie pulled a piece from the picture, leaving Sakon in a cage, "--he was taken away to be used in a secret weapon."

Selphie changed the picture to her and Flat having fun at the party. "The secret weapon was a song that would make hundreds of perfect soldiers. There was a big party so that everyone could see the song being made."

Selphie changed it to a picture of Sakon escaping with Selphie using her sash on him and Flat playing his flute. "But Sakon escaped and began to attack the people at the party. Selphie used her power to hold him in place while her friend, Flat, played the song--," Selphie hummed the Elegy of Emptiness, _ABAFADB_ "--for them to send the villain to a secret chamber, where he couldn't hurt anyone else."

"One day Selphie and Flat were taking a walk when they found--," Niko cut off, realizing Selphie hadn't changed the picture. She was standing very still, staring into space. "One day Selphie and Flat," he repeated more loudly, hoping to jar her from her daze.

"Hey, Selphie?" Tetra called. Selphie's eyelids were dwindling between open and closed. "You got stage fright?" Niko reached over to take the proper picture from her.

"Selphie?" The second Niko touched her, Selphie gave a small shudder and slumped to the floor. Everyone leapt to their feet immediately. "Selphie?!" She didn't respond. "Selphie, wake up!" Niko grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her a bit.

"What happened?!" Tetra demanded of Niko.

"How should I know?!" Niko exclaimed. Mako held two fingers to her neck and checked for a pulse. "Is…. is she…. dead?" he asked.

"No," Mako shook his head. "She's alive. A little cold, but she's alive. It seems like she's just sleeping."

"Sleeping? Sleeping?!" Tetra repeated.

"I said it looks like it, not that she actually is," Mako answered. "I think she's just fainted."

"I'll get a fairy. Maybe that'll help," Link stated, getting up and running for his room.

"Why would she have fainted?" Tetra asked.

"I couldn't say for sure," Mako replied. "Could be culture shock finally catching up with her."

"Shock!" Niko exclaimed, eyes widened.

"I had wondered why a girl nearly a millennium removed from her own time hadn't suffered shock before," Mako added.

"What does that mean? Can we fix that?" Niko asked.

"Link's fairy should do it," Mako answered. "If not, then…."

"Then? Then what?" Tetra posed.

"Well, I don't know what then. I don't know much about it…," Mako admitted.

Tetra was about to go off on him, but Link returned, saying, "Got it! Stand back so she doesn't heal the wrong person." The group backed away from the unconscious girl. Link kneeled down, uncorked the bottle, and quickly backed away so that the fairy would go for the right person. That didn't stop the ball of blue light from fluttering right over to him and hovering in front of his face. "No, no! She needs to be--."

"Why are you wearing those clothes?" the fairy cut him off.

"I-- what?"

"Why are you wearing those clothes?" she repeated.

"It can talk?" Tetra turned toward Link.

"I didn't know it could talk. The only one's I've heard talk are great fairies, the Fairy Queen, and--," he cut off.

"And? And who?" Tetra asked.

Link didn't answer right away, but the fairy took the break, saying, "Hey! Are you going to answer me?"

Link didn't answer her question but turned back to Tetra. "Ciela," he said. Tetra's eyes widened. "It's not her, but…." Ciela was the Spirit of Courage, who took the form of a yellow fairy. Link and Tetra's second adventure, the one that had lasted only ten minutes in reality but seemed much longer, had taken place in a part of the sea that was protected by Oshus, the Ocean King, and the Spirits of Power, Wisdom, and Courage. In his quest to rescue Tetra, Link had been accompanied by Ciela, who acted as his partner from beginning until end. This fairy wasn't Ciela or either of the other spirits, but because she could talk….

"Hello? Mr. Green Clothes?" the fairy called, flying up into his face.

"Whoa," he shielded his eyes from her brightness.

"Why are you wearing those clothes?" she asked one more time, backing away from him.

"My grandma made them for me. It's tradition on my island to give boys green tunics when they come of age," Link answered.

"That's all?" she asked, drooping in disappointment.

"Well, we get them because the Hero of Time used to wear them. I mean, I guess that's why I keep wearing it," he said.

"You just wanted to look like a hero?" the fairy asked wearily.

"I don't suppose it hurts for a hero to look the part," Tetra cut in, not sure she liked the fairy's attitude.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the fairy posed.

"Link's the Hero of Winds," Tetra answered.

"The what?!" the fairy seemed to get brighter.

"I kinda stopped Ganondorf from taking over the world," Link divulged quietly.

"Oy! Speaking of saving?" Niko called their attention. Senza smacked him in the back of the head. "Ow!"

"Don't interrupt!" Senza hissed.

"Well…!" Niko redirected their focus to their unconscious friend.

"What happened to her?" the fairy asked.

"We don't know. We were trying to help her when you distracted us," Tetra responded testily.

The fairy flew down to Selphie and turned back to them. "May I?" she asked. Everyone present was taken aback at the request, but Link nodded with a shrug. The fairy landed on Selphie's neck and, apparently took her pulse. Then she moved to her face and lifted an eyelid, looking at her eyes. She turned to Niko, "Could you hold that open for me?"

"Uh… sure?" he replied uncertainly, complying with her request. The fairy flew first to the left, then to the right, then back again. Selphie's irises rolled back and forth, following the fairy's movements, but nothing about her gave any indication of recognition of her surroundings.

"How strange…" the fairy muttered to herself.

"Um… what is?" Link asked.

"I haven't seen someone with her condition in years…. Centuries, even," the fairy stated.

"Centuries? Just how old are you?" Tetra posed doubtfully.

"Old enough to recognize when a person's lost her soul," she answered.

"Her soul? Are you joking?" Tetra exclaimed.

"Hardly," the fairy replied. "This body has lost its soul, in the last hour, it appears."

"How does a person just up and lose their soul? How do we get it back?" Tetra asked skeptically.

"Many ways, but I would not be able to tell you for certain," the fairy answered.

Tetra looked like she wanted to raise something else, but Link wanted to figure out how to help his friend, so he asked, "How could we find out?"

"Hold on a minute," Tetra cut in, refusing to go unheard and still not necessarily trusting the fairy. "Just who are you? How do we know that you know what you're talking about?"

"Come on, Tetra. Why would she lie? She's a fairy, not a moblin," Link sighed exasperatedly.

"And I'm a partner fairy. We're known to be very knowledgeable so that we're able to be of as much help as possible to our partners," the fairy added. Before Tetra could protest again, the fairy continued, "Listen! If you just take me to the Fairy Queen, she can speak for my credentials and probably tell you how to save your friend."

Link looked to Tetra, who met his gaze. "It can't hurt, can it? We certainly don't know how to help her, and the Fairy Queen is bound to know," he reasoned.

Tetra frowned and considered this. "Boys, take Selphie to my cabin and put her in bed. She's not staying on the floor." The men complied and left the room. Appearing to concede, Tetra turned to the fairy and asked in a stern voice, "What's your name?"

The fairy faltered at this. "Why… uh, why do you want to know that?"

"Why don't you want to tell?" Tetra countered.

"…Is it that important?"

"If you're keeping secrets about who you are, then why should we believe anything else you say?"

For a few long, silent moments, Link, Tetra, and the fairy looked between each other, searching for answers. Link looked to the fairy and, finally, to Tetra. She met his stare and matched it. Finally, she folded her arms across her chest and grumbled a reluctant consent. She faced the fairy. "I'm not trusting you until I find out who you are." And she retreated to her cabin.

* * *

Later that night, Link was lying in bed, propped up on his pillows. The fairy was curled up on top of a pile of folded clothes nearby. He had been explaining the circumstances surrounding Selphie's sudden loss of her soul, including how she came to live among their crew and from where and when she came. "If she came from the past, it's likely that something she did caused a magical backfire that took away her soul," the fairy commented.

"Like what?" Link asked.

"Anything. Anything that would have been completely normal back then could have any kind of consequence now," the fairy answered.

"I wish I knew what it was," Link mused sadly. "What exactly happens when a person loses their soul?"

"Well, it's not something I would wish on anyone," the fairy replied. "Their body lives on, but without a soul it does nothing. It has no will. It won't even age, and it never dies unless somehow destroyed."

"Gods…" Link mumbled. "What about the soul? What happens to it?"

"It depends. The soul can't return to its body without some kind of intervention," the fairy explained, "and if no one realizes what has happened, all it can do is wander the realms forever. It can't move on or be recycled until the body dies."

"Is that what happened to Selphie's soul?" Link asked.

"I don't know. It all depends on how she lost it to begin with," the fairy replied. Link nodded in understanding and yawned sleepily. "You should get some rest. It is a long journey to Mother and Child Island."

"Right," he nodded, laying back on his mattress and tucking himself in. The fairy copied the action on her own makeshift bed and prepared to sleep when Link spoke up again, "One more thing, I've gotta ask."

"Hmm?"

"Why were you asking about my clothes?" He sat up again to face her. She seemed to sink guiltily into his tunic.

"I'd rather not say…" she answered.

"Does it have something to do with why you won't tell us your name?" Link asked.

"…Yes."

"…Is it to do with the Hero of Time?"

The fairy was silent. She obviously didn't want to answer, or simply wasn't ready to do so. "…Goodnight," he bade her and rolled over to sleep.

* * *

A week passed while they sailed back to the Great Sea. They had sailed far to the southeast. Link, using the Wind Waker baton for the first time in months, kept a constant breeze at their back, conducting them due northwest the whole way. Finally, one day, just after lunch, Zuko shouted out from the crow's nest, "Hoy! …Forest Haven! …Dead ahead! …Forty miles off!"

Everyone on the ship stopped what they were doing and looked to the bow of the ship. At a forty mile distance and without telescopes of their own, they couldn't see the island, of course, but Forest Haven was the first sign of the sea they called home, and they were all eager to catch a glimpse of it. They sailed on through the afternoon and into the early evening. Just as the sun was setting in front of them, they dropped anchor next to the Forest Haven.

As they all busied themselves on deck, putting the ship into overnight condition, they heard a high, reedy voice cry out, "Hoy! Link!" Link ceased his chore and looked up to see a Korok flying down from the giant tree to greet him. As the wooden body got closer, Link realized with delight that it was, in fact, Makar, the Sage of Wind. Like Medli, he had helped Link to bring the power to destroy evil to the Master Sword and restore safety to the Great Sea. The child-like Korok was like a little brother to Link, and it had been too long since he had seen him.

Makar landed right in Link's arms and hugged him tightly. "We missed you!" the Korok beamed at him.

"I missed you, too," Link smiled back, setting the Korok on the deck.

"Are you here for a visit? What brings you back to the Great Sea?" Makar asked. "I thought you were looking for the new Hyrule?"

"Well, we got a little side-tracked," Link answered. "Our friend is… sick, and we think the Fairy Queen can help her."

"So, you're not staying?" Makar wilted a bit.

"Sorry, but no," Link replied, kneeling and patting the Korok on the head.

"That is a shame. And you just missed our annual ceremony, too," Makar pouted. "Will you at least come say hello to the Great Deku Tree? I'm sure he would love to hear of your travels!"

"After dinner. How about that?" Link offered.

"Yes! After dinner! I will tell the Great Deku Tree to expect you! Please don't forget!" Makar trilled, pulling out his leaf-helicopter.

"I won't. I'll see you later, Makar," Link waved as the Korok took off back to the Forest Haven.

By then the ship had been settled for the evening, and the only ones left on the deck were him and Tetra. "Almost there, huh?" she said crossing to the railing and leaning against it, looking northwest.

"Almost," he agreed, following.

"We'll get there tomorrow night, maybe the next morning, depending when we shove off," she added. "Then, maybe, we'll get the skinny on your fairy friend."

Link shook his head and sighed, "You still don't trust her?"

"Oh, I don't doubt she knows what she's talking about," Tetra answered. "But with all we've seen, I'm still waiting to find she has some secret objective."

"Tetra…"

"Look, mate. If she won't even tell us her name, I can't believe she's telling the truth about everything. She probably is, but I can't have that kind of faith in anyone without good reason. That's your job. My job is to use caution and be suspicious of everything. That's the way it is."

Link leaned against the railing next to her, "That's a shame…."

* * *

Link hadn't seen much of the fairy since Zuko pointed out Forest Haven. He found her in his room, sitting on her perch in his clothes. She didn't care to come above decks to see the Great Sea as it came into view. After dinner he'd planned to go visit the Great Deku Tree, so he went to his room to retrieve his grappling hook and Deku leaf in order to be able to negotiate the path up to the inner haven. When he entered his room, the fairy was nowhere to be found. In his head, he heard Tetra say, "I told you so," but he wanted to believe the best in the fairy.

Not wanting to give Tetra anymore suspicions, Link decided to go on with his visit to the Deku Tree, hoping he'd find the fairy on the way. Just as he was about to open the door, he heard a wooden rattling sound on the other side and recognized the sound of Koroks when they moved. As he guessed, standing on deck, about to knock on the door, were Makar and another Korok, Hollo.

"Link! You heard us coming!" Makar greeted gleefully.

"Makar? Hollo? What are you doing out here?" Link asked, not knowing why they would have come.

"A fairy came to talk to the Great Deku Tree, so he asked us to stand out here and wait for them to finish," Hollo answered.

"Why would he do that?" Link wondered aloud.

"I don't know, but it seemed very important," Makar replied. "I think they knew each other." Link looked over at the Forest Haven. "Will you tell us your stories while we wait, Link?"

"Actually," Link answered slowly, "I need to talk to the Deku Tree and my fairy friend."

"Oh, do you know the fairy? Who is she?" Makar asked.

"That's what I'm gonna find out." Leaving Makar and Hollo to be entertained by Tetra and the pirates, Link used his Deku leaf to float over to the Forest Haven and then used his grappling hook to swing over the river flowing out of its entrance.

Inside the hollowed, wooden outer walls of the Forest Haven, the river streamed around soft grass, baba buds, and, of course, the Great Deku Tree himself, a towering tree whose highest branches formed a leafy canopy over the Korok's sanctuary. A giant lily-pad sat in the spring in front of the Great Deku Tree, and Link was wont to sit there when he visited. Fireflies hovered throughout the dusky air. Link might have confused them for the fairy, but he was guided to her location by two voices locked in deep conversation.

When finally he reached the spring where the river began, the discussion ceased, and his suspicions were confirmed: there stood the Deku Tree, tall and proud, and across from him, hovering awkwardly, was the fairy.

"Link, my friend, it is good to see you," the Deku Tree greeted. The fairy drooped nervously. The Deku Tree looked at her and returned to Link, "You've arrived at just the right time."

* * *

5/31/08

Selphie: Yeah, the old end notes make absolutely no sense with this chapter, so they're going at the end of the next chapter. So, new notes!

Tingle: _Ahem!_

Selphie: Yeah, what?

Tingle: Great Fairy, fairy, Makar, Hollo, and the Great Deku Tree belong to Nintendo.

Selphie: Oh, right, I don't own them... Okay. Yeah, if you've already read the original, you know who the fairy is, but if this is your first time, it should still be something of a mystery, unless you're just that intuitive. I didn't realize until very recently how adorable Makar is. And he is. So, now he's here.

Anyway, go on to the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 3

Edit (5/31/08): This is the second part of the Chapter 2 revision, which is now Chapter 3 because I managed to make the new Chapter 2 so long that that it had to become two chapters. Either way, I did a complete overhaul of the chapter. Now, hopefully, it doesn't read like a 16 year-old wrote it. I think it's better now. Looks like I managed to change some medium-sized plot points this time, though. All of the other chapters are going to have to be shifted up one, though. It's bound to be confusing, but, well, there's nothing much to be done about it. Just be sure to read all the changes and enjoy! Oh, and before veterans start asking: yes, I did change her accent. I'll explain later.

* * *

5/31/08

Selphie: So, the old Chapter 2 start notes are at the beginning of the last chapter. The old Chapter 2 end notes will be at the end of this chapter, even if they make no sense now. Anyway, here's the new Chapter 3/Chapter 2, part 2.

Din: Just call it Chapter 3.

Nayru: We don't want to confuse them too terribly.

Farore: I thought she was rewriting to make it easier to read.

Selphie: Well, if they're new, it will be easier to read. If not, well... oh, damn, I hope this doesn't lose me all of my veterans.

Darunia: Moving to something more positive! Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied.

Tingle: So far, the only current character she owns is Selphie.

Selphie: ...How is reminding me that I don't own my favorite franchise a positive?

Darunia: ...Read on!

* * *

Chapter 3

"_--sleep all day!"_

"_How do you know it ees day? How long has eet been since you saw a clock?"_

"_If the rest of us are awake, it's day!"_

"_Majority rule!"_

"_They have a point."_

"…"

"_Ha! Nothing to say to that, huh?"_

"_Somefing is not right…."_

"_I win! And with logic, too!"_

"_Quiet."_

"_What? Don't like the sound of your defeat?"_

"_Be quiet."_

"_What's the matter with you?"_

"_She's just embarrassed by how I outsmarted--."_

"_Yebat'-kopat! Shut up your mouf, you idiot!"_

_In a room made of stone, where darkness oppressed like a black fog, four individuals of similar, yet very different personalities faced off in a tense argument. The disagreement was actually rather petty. It regarded sleep schedules-- the room had four stone slabs that functioned as beds for the four individuals. The one lady of the group tended to sleep more often than the three men, who rarely obliged her demands that they not disturb her. This time, the less courteous two had gotten into a sort of wrestling match, which had knocked over and caused a ruckus with the long wooden table and many chairs that sat in the center of the room._

_It was the woman who had ordered the others to silence. She was short in stature, smaller than a human child. Her cheeks were bright red, not from anger at her companions, but from tribal paint, which matched the dress of layers of larger, intensely crimson petals. Her arms, short in proportion with the rest of her body, were often hidden beneath a shawl of deep purple leaves. That purple color carried to the flower and vine that tied back the leaves that were her equivalent of hair. The three largest of these leaves stuck up like a headdress, giving her a decidedly regal appearance. She was made of wood-- a Deku._

_The youngest and most combative of her companions had the distinct look of someone who really didn't care if he was disturbing the peace. In addition to natural green-blue markings along his sides and fins, his limbs were tattooed red, blue, and yellow. On his wrists, ankles, and around his neck he wore enough bangles to constitute armor, though the silver rings dangling from the appendages on either side of his face were obviously just for show. His pale blue skin marked him a Zora._

_The largest, most laid back of the group didn't look as though he'd always been so. In fact, the wear in his short green lavalava skirt and the wide scar across his barreled chest would suggest that he was once quite active. His copper gauntlets enhanced his already impressive strength, but the heavy steel beads hanging from his neck were placed there to hinder the same. The shock of white-blonde hair and beard that wrapped around his face like a mane would seem to signify age, but this Goron was not very far along in years._

_The last occupant of the chamber was, in fact, the oldest. His appearance was very commonplace. He wore a white, long-sleeved shirt and blue pants. Brown shoes were on his feet. A brown belt was around his waist. He was bald. Just by looks, he was nothing special._

_All of them, the Deku, Zora, Goron, and human, stood silently for a minute. "…What are we just standing here for!" the Zora broke out loudly._

"_Somefing is not right," the Deku repeated in her heavy accent, taking a few steps toward the center of the room._

"_Yeah, you said," the Zora retorted. "But I don't see what's so wrong."_

"_Care to fill us in?" the Goron asked._

_The Deku continued to analyze the room. _

"_She's full of crap," the Zora said._

"_Oh, give it a rest," the human responded dully._

"_What the hell? She's the one trying to change the subject just because she lost an argument. Real mature!"_

"_And eef you vere a bit more intelligent, you may have noticed dat our argument vas interrupted!" the Deku rounded on him, disappearing for a moment and reappearing right in his face._

"_Yeah, by your whole cryptic 'Ooh! Something isn't right!' Everything's just fine, in case you hadn't noticed," the Zora returned._

"_Hmph. 'Everyfing is fine?'" the Deku repeated. She turned to the human. "Vhat do you fink? Ees everyfing fine?"_

_The human looked at her curiously. She waved her arm, indicating the rest of the room. He looked around, eyes narrowed critically. Everything looked the same, yes, but somehow… "Wait…. Something doesn't feel right…."_

"_What?" the Zora blurted._

"_Something isn't right. Something… isn't right…," the human repeated, stepping toward the center of the room._

"_What the hell are you talking about?!" the Zora demanded. The Goron smacked him in the back of the head. "Oy! What the--?!"_

"_Will you shut up for five seconds?" the Goron posed. The Zora crossed his arms and harrumphed._

"_What is it?" the human asked._

"_I fink," the Deku said, still looking as she moved around the room, "Dat ve have just been remobilized."_

"_What?" the three men asked, confusedly and skeptically._

"_In dee middle of dat argument, eider somefing changed in a split second, or ve vere frozen and just unfrozen again!" the Deku explained._

"_And how can you tell that?" the Zora charged._

"_Dere ees somefing in dis room dat vas not here before," the Deku replied, and the human nodded in agreement._

"_What? What's here?" the Goron asked._

"_I don't think it's a 'what,' so much as a 'who,'" the human said._

"_Yes, somevone ees here who vas not here before," the Deku concurred._

"_Who? Where?" the Zora asked._

_At this point, the Deku was right next to the center of the table. She narrowed her eyes all of a sudden and crouched down, shoving chairs out of the way. "What are you--?" the Goron started._

"_Come. Help me vith dis," she beckoned him, struggling with something under the table. The Goron responded quickly and in no time, they had pulled the Deku's find out from under the table and set it on top. The human and Zora quickly joined._

"_No way…," the Zora breathed. Lying between them was a young girl they all new from a time they thought had long passed._

"_I believe," the Deku said, looking to the human, "Dat you two are old friends."_

_As the human looked over the girl's features-- her brown hair, her blue chemise, brown slacks, and especially the red sash tied around her waist-- his own features became less commonplace. A smirk split his face that held a wild and wicked mirth while in his eye an evil glint appeared which had been absent for hundreds of captive years._

"_Ees dat right, Sakon?" the Deku smirked._

_Sakon leered down at the girl who had captured him. "It's been a while, darling…."_

* * *

Link stood there in anticipation. He waited for the Great Deku Tree to say more. He waited for the fairy to explain her actions. When neither happened, he finally spoke. "Who is that?" he pointed to the fairy.

"Ah, our friend, you mean," the Great Deku Tree smiled. "This is Navi, my very old friend and companion. I've not seen her in some years. In fact, I was quite surprised when she arrived this evening."

The fairy, Navi, floated a bit closer. "…Hello."

"Navi, would you care to tell Link why you wouldn't introduce yourself before? I'm rather curious to hear it myself," the Great Deku Tree asked pleasantly.

"…I knew that I would not stay with him long," she answered.

"Why ever is that?" the Great Deku Tree inquired, mildly surprised.

"Because he is the Hero, and I always abandon the Hero in his time of greatest need," she explained. "I am… unworthy of his company…." At this the Great Deku Tree laughed. "Sir, why do you mock me?"

"Oh, dear one," he chuckled, "I do not laugh at you. I am amused by your humility."

Link was confused. "Wait. You were planning to leave this whole time?" he raised.

"No!" Navi protested. "I never planned to leave. I just… expect to…."

Link shook his head, "I don't understand."

"My friend," the Deku Tree interjected, "Have you heard the legend of the Hero of Time?"

"I've heard stories," Link answered.

"Please, Great Deku Tree--," Navi piped in, but the Deku Tree silenced her with a soft gaze.

"Stories? I doubt," the Deku Tree told Link. "Few remain who know about Link's adventures."

"The Hero of Time's name was Link, too?" Link jumped in, eyes wide.

"Indeed. History has a way of repeating itself sometimes," the Great Deku Tree replied. "The Hero of Time was a Hylian named Link, and, much like you, his parents died when he was quite young. His mother left him in my care, and, throughout childhood, he believed himself to be a Kokiri."

"Like Fado," Link clarified, meaning the Wind Sage who preceded Makar. The Deku Tree nodded and continued.

"I knew that he was destined for great things, and when Ganondorf threatened Hyrule, I sent him forth to return peace to our land."

"But wait, what does this have to do with Navi?" Link cut in.

The deity smiled patiently. "The Kokiri had fairy partners from birth until death," he said. "Though he was not a Kokiri, I sent a fairy partner-- my own fairy partner-- to guide Link as he set out on his quest." Link considered this.

"…Navi? Navi was the Hero of Time's fairy partner?" Link concluded, looking to the fairy for confirmation.

She bobbed a sad affirmation. "Yes. Since I was born I was the Great Deku Tree's partner. Then I journeyed with Link from the day he left the forest to the day he sealed Ganondorf into the Sacred Realm."

"That's amazing! You must know everything that happened, then! Every fight, every monster!" Link raved. He realized, "That's why you asked about my clothes! Why wouldn't you want to tell anyone?"

"Because the story ends when Ganondorf is defeated!" Navi cried out.

"How can it be over? If Link won, the story goes on, doesn't it?"

"How would I know? I left him!"

"You… what?" Link asked, confused again. Navi floated down and settled forlornly on a tuft of grass. "You left him? Why?" Navi didn't answer. "Why?" he looked to the Great Deku Tree, whose face was impassive.

"This I do not know. Navi never returned to me at the end of their adventure. If not for Link's visits to the forest, I would not have known that they parted ways," he answered. Navi remained silent. "I must tell you, child. I worried dreadfully."

"…I am sorry, Great Deku Tree…," Navi whispered.

"I am, too," he replied. "Sorry that you did not feel you could come to me with your troubles." Silence. "Tell me, how do you feel now that you've returned?"

She paused a moment. "Better. I forget how healing your forest can be. I've been to many woods, but none have the same feeling as Kokiri Forest."

"It is your home, after all. You were a part of this forest from the time I settled here," the Deku Tree responded. A pause. "You spent your whole life here before the adventure. Where did you go after you left?" the Great Deku Tree asked.

"Many places; many realms. I crossed mountains and rivers, deserts and lakes. I stayed in Termina for a very long time. It was much like Hyrule…," she trailed off.

"What about the flood?" Link asked, having sat upon the lily pad.

"I was in the mountains at that time. I found cave at the top and waited out the storm," she answered. "I didn't realize the world had flooded until it was over, and I didn't hear of Ganondorf's escape until years later. That's when I started visiting fountains again, to hear news of Hyrule… or what remained of it. That's how I heard about the Hero of Winds."

"And how I managed to catch you," Link gave a crooked little smile. He couldn't see, but he could tell that she returned it. "…Navi, why did you leave?"

"Do I have to answer?" she asked. "I still do not feel ready to tell."

"Little one, you know I love you dearly and would never wish you any strife," the Deku Tree said. "However, I fear that you are waiting for a readiness that will not come." The size of her light seemed to shrink a bit. "Please, I do believe this confession is will allow you to begin to reconcile with yourself."

They heard a tiny sniffle. They waited for what seemed like hours but was maybe a minute. Link thought she wouldn't answer. "When the adventure was over, my job was done. Link no longer had a quest, so he didn't need a fairy partner to guide him on a quest."

"You thought he didn't need you anymore?" Link asked.

"No… a-and yes… I mean…," she faltered. "I knew he wouldn't want me to leave; he thought he still needed me."

The Deku Tree nodded. "He said so when he visited me."

"I thought so, but, he didn't really need me, right? I mean… I guided him through his mission, but… I don't know…. I thought he needed to be on his own. I know you told me to stay with Link, but…." She nervously looked at the Deku Tree and started at his expression. "You look surprised."

"I am surprised; surprised that your reasoning mirrors mine so closely," he replied. "In fact, I had planned to ask you to return to me once Ganondorf was defeated, but I never got the chance."

"R…really?" Navi squeaked.

"Indeed. I agree that Link needed some alone time, to find out who he was, find a place in the world and a new purpose now that he'd fulfilled his heroic destiny," the Deku Tree explained. "The Kokiri are children forever, but--."

"But Hylians must one day grow up! Yes, that is exactly what I thought!" Navi exclaimed. "That is why I left!"

"Child, I do wish that you had at least accompanied him back to the forest so I could tell you so myself. I would not have made you to wander the realms forever," the Deku Tree said.

"But I did not wish him to know where I was, and…," she trailed off once more.

"And what?" Link asked, held by her story.

"…And I did not wish to see him either…," she said.

"Why?"

"I, too, needed to let go, but, also, I couldn't bear to face him after leaving him, even if you had told me to, Great Deku Tree," Navi explained. "Even though he didn't need me, he still needed me. Truly becoming an adult; I can't imagine what that must have been like alone; to always have someone there to guide you, and then for that person to leave you when your real journey is about to begin. He must have… he must have h-h-h-…."

The ball of light shook with sobs as Navi cried harder than ever. Not knowing what else to do, Link crossed to her and offered his sleeve. She took a handful and blew her tiny nose into it. "I abandoned him just when he needed me the most. How could he forgive me for that? How could I face him? Oh, I wanted to go back. From the minute I flew away, I wanted to return and help him make that transition. But I knew that I'd already hurt him, and I couldn't go back!" Sobs broke through again. "That's why I did not go to the forest. I knew he would go there. I knew wherever in Hyrule I went, he would see me eventually, so I had to leave. And I didn't come back because I thought the Great Deku Tree would be mad at me for leaving so unexpectedly, and I couldn't face Hyrule; not with all the memories. I couldn't return." They were all silent while she cried.

"…Navi, my child, I am sorry for the pain you have endured these many long years," the Great Deku Tree spoke softly. "You have suffered unnecessarily, though. Link never mentioned any hate for you. He just wanted to know that you were safe." She sniffled. "…And he wanted you to know that, there or not, you're the reason he grew into such a fine young man." She sobbed. "Your guidance stayed with him long after you were gone, and your love and support strengthened him for years to come." She bawled.

"H-h-how could he be s-so underst-standing?" she wept.

"Because we know that you had your reasons, and that it was all for the better in the end," Link spoke up.

"W-we?" Navi asked pitifully.

"The King of Hyrule hasn't spoken since we left Hyrule," Link explained. "I didn't have my father, but he was like a father to me. I'm sure Link felt the same way about you. At first I was worried that he hadn't made it. I knew that wasn't it, and so I wondered why he was ignoring us. Then I realized that it was for our own good: I needed to move on from my adventure, and he needed to let go the sea because it wasn't his world. I miss him, but, I know that he has his reasons, and I respect him enough to leave it at that. I forgive him for leaving, but I never forget him." Navi was silent for a few more moments. Then she floated up to Link's collar and grabbed onto it.

"Thank you," she hugged him. Though Link had never hugged a fairy before, he instinctively lifted one hand and lightly held her against him. When they let go, Navi floated up between the tree and the boy. "I feel much better now. Thank you."

"I am glad, little one," the Deku Tree smiled. "I can only guess that it is fate which has brought the two of you together. My curiosity is not yet abated. Why have you returned to the Great Sea?"

Caught up in Navi's story, Link had forgotten all about their new mission. "Sir, we are hoping to save my friend. She has lost her soul, and we do not know why or how. We just want to get it back," he told him.

"Her soul?" the Deku Tree seemed shocked.

"Yes, sir. They tried to use me to heal her, but I realized what had happened," Navi explained.

"That is a very rare affliction…," the Deku Tree pondered. "But why has that brought you to the Great Sea?"

"I thought that the Fairy Queen might know how to save her," Navi said. "But that was when I was still hoping to avoid you. But then we dropped anchor here, and…."

Suddenly it occurred to Link, "Great Deku Tree! Could you tell us how Selphie lost her soul?"

"Indeed, please bring her to me," the Deku Tree replied.

* * *

The door to the ship burst open, and everyone below decks noticed immediately. "Link!" Makar chirped. "Are you finished your meeting with the Great Deku Tree?" He and Hollo were playing with Tetra and the pirates, but were obviously more excited to see Link.

Tetra, however, looked less than pleased. She immediately leapt up and stalked angrily over to him, pulling him by the arm away from the group. "If you were one of my boys, you'd be fired right now. You dump the Koroks on us, disappear for an hour, and don't tell anyone where you're going or what you're doing. Where have you been?" she demanded.

Link was the Hero of Winds. He'd battled many frightening monsters and villains. But, quite frankly, when Tetra was angry, she terrified him. "Uh, ah… I went to visit the Deku Tree. Didn't Makar tell you?" he replied sheepishly.

"Aheh," Tetra laughed humorlessly and demanded, "What is going on?"

"I can explain that," Navi spoke up.

Surprise showed on Tetra's face at the fairy's offer, but she quickly reverted to skepticism. "All right, go ahead, fairy."

"You can call me Navi," Navi told her. This time, the surprise didn't disappear from Tetra's expression. "I didn't tell you before because I was ashamed of myself for leaving my partners. I first partnered with the Great Deku Tree, which is why I went to talk to him. Link followed me to the Forest Haven because he wanted to find out who I was."

"I… you… what?" Tetra bumbled.

"Oh! You are the Great Deku Tree's fairy? He has mentioned you before!" Makar chimed in. "It is a great honor to meet you."

"I hope you will trust me now. I've come to terms with my past, and I will not keep any secrets anymore," Navi assured her.

"Okay?" Tetra replied bemusedly.

"Tetra," Link said, "The Great Deku Tree can tell us how to save Selphie."

"He can?" Tetra exclaimed.

"Yes, but we need to bring her to him," Link replied.

"On it, mate," Tetra responded. "Oy! Gonzo! Come carry Selphie."

Not long after, Link, Tetra, Navi, Gonzo, Makar, and Hollo were convened in front of the Great Deku Tree with Selphie laying on the ground before him. While the Deku Tree examined her, the others recounted the events leading up to her losing her soul. When they finished their story, the Deku Tree was silent while he considered the possibilities.

"Do you have any idea what happened?" Navi asked.

"You said she travelled through time. From where and when?" he asked.

"I don't remember the year exactly, but it was almost exactly one thousand years ago," Link replied. "She lived in a place called Ikana." At this the Deku Tree raised his eyebrows.

"What is it, sir?" Navi asked.

"Ikana was once a great kingdom from what I have heard," he said. "When their realm was invaded, they rallied the other tribes together to defend it. Ikana's specialty just happened to be the manipulation and movement of souls."

"You mean those songs she mentioned?" Tetra asked. "She told she was there when one was created."

"The Elegy of Emptiness, I suspect," he responded. "Each tribe created a magical way to defend their selves or attack their enemy, and Ikana's was the Elegy of Emptiness, which would allow them to make thousands of perfect, soulless, soldiers."

"Wasn't she humming that during that story?" Gonzo asked.

"Was she?" Tetra responded, unsure.

"If that is the case, I would suspect that it is at least related to, if not the cause of, her soul leaving her body," the Great Deku Tree answered.

"But that doesn't make sense. I thought that song was supposed to make a copy of you, not take your soul away?" Tetra asked.

"It is possible that Ikana is in the same state as Hyrule: frozen, its magic sealed away. I suspect that has caused a backfire, so that instead of creating a soulless shell of her, it turned her into a soulless shell," the Deku Tree explained.

"Link, I am so sorry about your friend," Makar said. "If there is anything I can do to help…."

"Thank you, Makar," Link smiled, kneeling and patting the Korok on the head. "I'm not sure what we're going to do, though."

"Any suggestions?" Tetra asked the Deku Tree.

"Hmm… I myself do not know how to get your friend's soul back," he replied. Before they could become too dejected, he added, "You may, however, find your answers in Ikana."

"I thought you said it was frozen like Hyrule?" Link asked.

"Like Hyrule, indeed. Yet, you managed to find your way into that ancient kingdom," the Deku Tree answered, a smile in his eye. "I do know that the last sign of its location is an island known as the Eastern Stair."

"Where is that?" Link asked.

"Unfortunately, I do not know its location. Since I have a people to protect here, I am not allowed to know many things outside of my own realm," he replied.

"You haven't seen it, have you, Navi?" Link turned to the fairy.

"No," she shook from side to side, drooping a bit.

"Great. How are we supposed to find it then?" Tetra posed.

"I am afraid I do not know that," the Deku Tree responded. "You will have to find it for yourselves." They looked about to rack their brains for ideas, but he stopped them, saying, "It is getting late, though, my friends. If you are to help your friend, you must be well-rested. Please, return to your ship and get some rest."

Link nodded, "Yes, sir. Thank you for your help."

"It is my pleasure. I only wish I could tell you more," the Deku Tree replied.

Gonzo lifted Selphie and started toward the exit. Makar toddled over to Link and hugged his leg. "I shall pray all night long for an answer to come to you," he said, looking up at his friend. "I hope you can save your friend."

"Thank you, Makar," Link lifted the Korok and embraced him fondly.

"Come on, Link. The boys have gotta be getting worried by now," Tetra waved him over.

"Got it," he replied, setting Makar down again. "Bye, Makar. Bye, Hollo."

"Bye!" they called.

"Thank you again, Great Deku Tree," Link said.

"Farewell, Link," he answered. Tetra and Link made their way for the exit with Navi following them. "Navi? Are you leaving as well?"

"I had hoped to help them on their quest," she said. "Is that all right?"

The Deku Tree seemed pleasantly surprised and smiled, "As long as you return when the adventure is over."

She bobbed in response and flew after her new friends.

* * *

It was very early in the morning, and the sun had not yet begun to peek out over the eastern horizon. The waves were calm around Forest Haven, and the wind was merely a gentle breeze. Everyone on the pirate ship was fast asleep. As a sliver of the sun became visible in the distance, the breeze picked up and became a draft and then a gust.

"YAHOOOOO!!" The enormous shout boomed out through the morning air and startled everyone from their slumber. "HOY IN THERE!" Link sat up in bed at the sound and looked around confusedly for the source.

"What's going on?" he heard the pirates mumbling from the next room.

"Hoy! …Visitors! …Weird looking!" Zuko shouted.

"Hello?" Navi murmured from her place in Link's laundry.

_Smack!_ "Quiet, you idiot! They're probably sleeping!" came another voice as Link climbed out of bed and shook Navi awake.

"Yeah, that's why I'm shouting! We can't talk to them if they're sleeping," the first voice returned. Link and Navi quickly crossed the lower deck to get to the door, meeting Tetra on the way, neither having bothered with changing out of their pajamas.

"Sirs, please get along. My friends need your help!" Makar's voice chirruped from outside just as the three of them exited the ship.

"Makar?" Link asked, seeing him standing in the middle of the deck.

"You now, thanks to him," the second voice said, and Link looked up to see Zephos jab his thumb at his brother.

"Zephos? Cyclos?" That certainly woke Link up. The Wind Gods and brothers sat above them on matching clouds. The two looked identical as giant frogs except for their colors-- Zephos was teal with a green cloud while Cyclos was fuchsia with a purple cloud. Zephos tended to guide gentle winds and zephyrs while Cyclos cared mostly for gales and cyclones. Link had learned from them how to use the Wind Waker to conduct the winds to help him in his travels. Now he wondered, "What are you doing here?"

"Our sage called us. Said you needed a little help," Cyclos responded.

"You were always good to us, so we came over right away," Zephos added.

"I thought they could help you find the Eastern Stair since they can travel outside the Great Sea!" Makar piped in.

"Makar, that's brilliant!" Link beamed. "Can you help us out, guys?"

"Of course! Eastern Stair is just west of the Great Sea," Cyclos said. "West by northwest for about 700 miles."

"West? But it's the _Eastern_ Stair," Link said.

"It's in the eastern region of that sea," Zephos explained.

"Wait. Hold on. Seven hundred?" Tetra blurted. "Seven hundred miles? That'll take us nine days, easily! Gods, Selphie's gonna be stuck for weeks at this rate!"

"Selphie?" Zephos asked.

"Selphie is the friend they are trying to save," Makar explained. "She has lost her soul, and the Great Deku Tree told them they should look at the Eastern Stair for clues to saving her."

Zephos glanced at Cyclos. "Is she from that region?" he asked.

"Yes, she's actually a time-traveler from Ikana," Link said. Both gods glanced at each other, but none of the mortals seemed to notice.

"Yup, Eastern Stair's probably your best bet, then. If she's lost her soul, you wanna get there ASAP," Cyclos said.

"Souls and bodies are not meant to be separated, let alone for long periods of time," Zephos explained.

"Wonderful," Tetra grunted. "Let's wake the boys, then. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll get there." She started to head for the cabin.

"Now, hold on a second," Cyclos stopped her. "We owe you one for getting rid of Ganondorf."

"We do?" Zephos reacted. Cyclos punched him. "I mean we do."

"So, let us help you get there a little faster," Cyclos continued. "If Zephos adds a bit of his wind power to my cyclones, they could carry the pirate ship across the ocean just like the King of Talking Boats."

"Oy!" Zephos grabbed Cyclos and pulled him about to face away from the mortals, who watched awkwardly as the two argued.

"It's good to see them getting along again," Makar said. The others nodded. "So, have you been making any fine breezes lately, windward or otherwise?"

"W-what?" Link stammered. "What do you mean?"

Makar realized that it was an embarrassing question, "Oh, I'm sorry! I don't know. Cyclos told me to ask you."

"Well, I don't really follow, but I'm pretty sure it's a no on both counts," Link replied.

"Okay, it's decided!" Cyclos proclaimed loudly. "Zephos is adding _some_ of his wind to my cyclones." Zephos snapped his fingers resignedly. "Now they can lift the ship and take you anywhere you want to go. Just play my Ballad of Gales and tell them where you need to go!"

"Great!" Tetra exclaimed.

"But there's a catch!" Zephos declared. "I can't go giving all my power to the cyclones or else there'll be no wind anywhere on this ocean. So, use it sparingly, once a day tops. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," the group replied.

"Yeah, yeah. Get over it, Zeros. You're doing a good deed! Doesn't it feel good to do something useful for once?"

"Me do something useful? Me? When all you do all day is fly around the ocean making cyclones to torment sailors?" Zephos retorted. Cyclos laughed at his brother.

"You kids get going and take care of that friend of yours," Cyclos said. "And take care of our winds. They've been bored without you."

"We will. Thank you so much!" Link replied.

"No problem," Cyclos said. Zephos grunted beside him.

"Snideclos and I need to get going," Zephos said. "Let us know when you are done with my wind."

"Will do!" Tetra said before retreating into the cabin. "Hoy! Rise and shine, ya lazy bums!"

"Bye, kids!" Cyclos called as he and Zephos zipped away on their clouds.

With them gone, Link turned to Makar, "That was great of you, Makar. You have no idea what this means."

"It is no trouble at all, Link," Makar chirped. "I am always glad to help you!"

Link knelt down and hugged Makar again. "You're a wonderful friend." Makar trilled happily but let go before too long.

"You must get going! Your friend needs you!" he said.

"You're right," Link replied. "Goodbye, my friend."

As Makar pulled out his leaf-helicopter, he said to Link with all the sternness that a Korok could muster, "Come visit more often. Do not wait until you need help."

Link laughed, "Okay, okay."

"May the winds of fortune blow at your back," Makar bade him, and he took flight back to the Forest Haven.

"And yours." When he saw that the Korok was safely back on land, Link ran below decks to his room. Wind Waker in hand, he quickly ran back upstairs, shouting out to everyone, "Everyone brace yourselves! Hold onto something!" Everyone complied confusedly. When back on deck, Link planted his feet and raised the conductor's baton. Down, right, left, up, he conducted, and the cyclone appeared in the sky above him. "Eastern Stair!" he shouted to it. The funnel-cloud lifted the ship into the air, and in no time, they were flying westward to the Eastern Stair.

* * *

Yes, I'm sure you are all very much confused by the panic of the wind gods. Don't worry it will be explained later... much later as the case may end up being, but you'll just have to wait. Oh, and please don't chastise me for that first little scene. I know it's kind of cheesy and I desperately wish I had some chocolate to eat with said cheese, but it was the only way I could think of to get Link and Tetra burst in on the scene after the fact. (5/31/08: This makes no sense anymore because I kinda scrapped both those scenes...)

Tingle: It's nothing that hasn't been thought of by many, many other authors and gamers.

Me: Comforting, but you still gotta get outta my room.

Tingle: Aw... (exits via sparkly confetti stuff)

Me: Anywho, I would also like to point to the fact that a certain very annoying fairy has returned. It is just because the author is feeling evil... and because I needed someone with a vast knowledge of Hyrule's past to be at easy access to the group. Sooo... it was her or Korl and I couldn't do Korl because I made it so the King of Hyrule would remain in Hyrule and not sail around with Link. He's resting in peace... not that he's dead or anything, but, yeah, hopefully you get the picture. ...Oh, and Korl is my name for the King of Red Lions because, quite frankly, that's too many syllables for such a major character.

Anyway, R&R everyone! Oh! And wish me happy birthday in the reviews because as of half an hour ago it is my sweet sixteenth! w00t! m/


	5. Chapter 4

Edit (6/9/08): Disregard the previous edit (5/31/08). I did a complete overhaul of the chapter. Now, hopefully, it doesn't read like a 16 year-old wrote it. I think it's better now. I made some decent-sized changes, but the story is, overall, the same. Because of the way the last two chapters worked out, this one doesn't quite flow into the next one, but it should be close enough that you can read on if you want. Enjoy.

* * *

Edit (5/31/08): **If this is your first time reading this story, please read this before continuing!** Because I've been going through and revising old chapters, the last two chapters have changed considerably and no longer flow into this one at all. If you continue to read, odds are you'll be confused because this chapter does not pick up where the last one left off. So, if you've never read this story before, please don't read on quite yet. If you're really that absorbed and want to continue reading, I guess I should take it as a compliment and not complain, but just remember that considerable changes are being made right now.

**Starting next chapter, until I get a chance to change them, the titles at the beginning of each chapter are one behind their current position (example: label says "Chapter 23" but it's now Chapter 24) because of the shift explained in the last two chapter notes.**

* * *

Edit (1/11/07): I changed the names of several gods/goddesses and the appearance of all of them and even added one. I think it's better now. If you're new and don't know the difference, then my job is done.

* * *

Me: Chapter three!

Din: Wow... do you think she's gonna go all the way with this on?

Nayru: We'll hope. She seems really into this one.

Me: Don't talk about me like I'm not even here!

Farore: Who's to say that's how we talk when we're not around you?

Me: What?

Farore: If you're not around when we're talking about you then how you do you know what we sound like when we're talking about you when you're not around and thus have anything to compare to?

Me: o.o ...I'm not even gonna try to decipher that psychobabble. But I wanna let you guys go ahead and read the story. I'm going to respond to reviews at the end of this chapter because I got so much to say, especially about the birthday presents some of you left me! (sixteen!!)

Darunia: Disclaimer: She does not own anything Zelda-fied.

Tingle: All she owns is Selphie.

Me: Before you pull out your fairy-seeking rocket launchers and attack Tingle, I let you know they I've decided to be nice (shudder) and cut him some slack. He now gets part of the disclaimer. Anyway, read on, guys!

* * *

Chapter 4

It was a good thing that the Wind Gods had granted them the ability to carry the ship to their destination. If they'd had to sail, they probably would have missed it. The Eastern Stair was not a stair at all: it was a flat, rectangular slab, just barely high enough to avoid being drowned by the ocean's waves. The ship landed a short distance away from the island, and they wouldn't have seen it from even there if it hadn't been for a flock of seagulls roosting on it.

"How on earth did this place get its name?" Tetra wondered aloud, leaning over the railing as they approached the structure.

"Beats me," Link shook his head. But as they got closer, he exclaimed, "Oh, wow!"

"It's beautiful!" Navi declared. When they got near enough, they could see the ground of the island, and it was astounding. The entirety of the Eastern Stair was inlaid with colorful tiles, composing intricate shapes and patterns. Orange and blue were prominent in these patterns, and many depicted glorious warriors and handsome aristocrats. In the center was a strange symbol, resembling some sort beast with six extremities and a wide, toothy grimace. The entirety of this symbol was made in tiles of orange and blue, suggesting that it was a national symbol of sorts.

"Let's check it out," Link suggested, climbing over the railing and jumping to the island.

"Right behind ya!" Tetra responded, following suit, Navi quickly joining them.

When Link landed on the island, the seagulls scattered, revealing all the exquisite details in the mosaic. Since nothing immediately leapt out and drew their attention, they simply wandered around the small space for a few minutes, taking in the artwork beneath them.

Suddenly Navi, near the center of the island, called out, "Hey! Look at this!" Eager for a clue of some kind, the two humans quickly joined her. She was hovering near to the ground, so they knelt down to see what she was viewing: on the tiles that made up the central figure were transcribed tiny characters. "There's something written here," she stated.

"How can you tell? That doesn't look like any writing I know," Tetra said. Indeed, these letters were far more boxy and angular than the print that she and Link used.

"This is an ancient script from before the Great Rain," Navi told them.

"Can you read it?" Link asked.

"I am trying, but it is not in Hylian," Navi replied, still studying the runes.

"Ikanan?" Link supplied.

"No, they spoke the same language by the time this was made," she responded. A few seconds later, though, she went green with excitement, "Hey! This is the gods' alphabet!"

"The what?" Link asked.

"The gods' alphabet," Navi repeated. "It's not in common usage, but it is, or at least was, highly valued because its primary use is in magic. Most spells and incantations are spoken in the gods' dialect, but it is extremely precise and highly complicated for mortal tongues."

"Well, what's it doing here?" Tetra posed.

"I'm not sure, exactly," Navi replied. "I can read and pronounce it well enough, but my vocabulary is limited. The Deku Tree didn't use it very often."

"Try it and see what happens," Link suggested. Tetra nodded her approval.

"All right," she complied. Slowly and carefully she read over the letters, making sure she translated properly. After a few minutes, she floated back and began to read aloud. Link and Tetra had no idea what she was saying; the language was so different from their own. They soon realized it was working, however, when they began to feel the ground vibrate beneath them. Then Navi finished and was silent, waiting for the words to take effect.

Suddenly, the island started to change tremendously. They each let out a yelp of surprise as all the tiles beneath their feet suddenly rose into the air and started swirling about them. "Hoy! Miss!" "Cap'n!" "What's going on?" they heard the pirates calling from the ship. They were soon obscured, however, as all the tiles began to fly around the island, hiding its visitors from view.

Now the isle started to quake and dust began to shake from the floor and rise around them, revealing the ornate, red iron grille upon which they now stood. That frame, however, began to rise beneath them, taking them into the air with it. Link and Tetra finally lost their footing and fell onto their backsides. The dust continued to fly beneath them so that it took a moment for them to make out the large, square stone columns that were supporting the trellis on which they were seated. At this point, the tiles all started flying down again and began to rearrange their selves on the new floor and the now-exposed columns.

When nearly all the tiles were in place, the quaking receded into a light shudder again, and when the last tile landed in place, the entire island became still. "Is everyone okay?" Link asked, standing and offering Tetra a hand.

"Just fine," Tetra answered, allowing Link to pull her to her feet.

Navi flew down between the iron bars to survey the island's new look. "Hey! You guys have to come look at this!" she called. Being too big to fit through the grille, Link and Tetra shimmied to the edge and dropped carefully to the ground below. The island definitely had a new and different appearance. The new pillars were similarly colored as the floor, being painted with murals and a few of the tiles. The floor looked radically different, however, the characters having been replaced by six elaborate circles stationed at the six points of a hexagon. At the center of the island was, once again the symbol of Ikana, only it was more detailed and bore a blood-red center. Navi hovered above this once again when Link and Tetra joined her. "It says something else now, something in Hylian," she informed them.

"What does it say?" Tetra inquired, still unable to make heads or tails of the strange-looking font.

"It says: _To you who seek the ancient land,  
__You first must seek assistant hands.  
__Six heirs in total shall you seek,  
__From six monarchies most antique.  
__When on six circles they have stood,  
__Play they the Bond of Brotherhood._"

"Six heirs? Bond of Brotherhood? What's that supposed to mean?" Tetra queried.

"Sounds like it's a song you have to play to get in," Link mused.

"Not you," Navi corrected, floating over to one of the six circles. "The six heirs; they have to play the song."

"So, we have to find them and bring them here," Link said.

"Not to mention we have to find this song. I don't know it," Navi added.

"Oh, gods, this rescue mission is starting to become a full-on quest," Tetra groaned.

"But how do we even find these six heirs? We don't even know who they are or where their tribe ended up," Link stated.

"Oh! I know that!" Navi exclaimed excitedly.

"You do?" Tetra and Link both replied, stunned.

"Yes! It is an ancient Hylian artifact called the Tome of Lineage," she told them. "It was created centuries ago, even before anyone thought of stealing the Triforce. An evil warlock wished to be king and used a spell to take on the appearance of the king so that he could accuse the real one of being an impostor."

"He didn't get away with it, though. Right?" Link asked.

Tetra rolled her eyes and smacked in him the back of the head. "I would guess not," she said, indicating herself.

"You're right. He would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for the court jester and royal mage," Navi continued. "With the fool's cunning and the wizard's wisdom, they tricked the warlock into revealing his true identity and ended his days of trickery."

"Okay, so what does that have to do with this Tome of Lineage?" Tetra posed.

"Well, as the years went on, several more attempts were made for the thrown of Hyrule, as well as the other tribes, but the mage and jester always stopped the fraud," elaborated the fairy. "But they worried that once they were gone, the crowns of Hyrule would fall into the wrong hands. So, they created a book that would record all royal families' descendants, keeping track of each family member and their location."

"That sounds like exactly what we need," Link said.

"All right, then. Where is it?" Tetra asked.

"Unless it's been moved, it should still be in Hyrule Castle," Navi answered.

"All the way back in the Great Sea…," Tetra sighed. "And we can't fly back there until tomorrow morning. What do we do until then?"

Link's eyes lit up, and he grinned, pulling out the Wind Waker. "I might have an idea," he said and conducted right, left, and down. The wind seemed to sing the song he'd conducted, and to the surprise of Tetra and Navi, the sun, which had just been high in the sky, now disappeared and gave way to night. He then yawned, "It makes me sleepy when I change to night, though." He conducted it one more time, and the sun leapt back into the blue again.

"I know that song!" Navi cried. "Link and I found it in the tomb of the Royal Family. The Composer Brothers of Hyrule wrote it."

"A song can make the sun go down. The wonders never cease," Tetra proclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"A song can change the wind; why not the sun?" Navi replied.

"I guess you're right," Tetra conceded. "Shall we head out, then?"

The three of them returned to the ship and informed the crew of their plans. When everyone had braced their selves, Link conducted the Ballad of Gales and sent them off to the Tower of the Gods.

A few minutes after they landed, Tetra found Link in his room with all of his weapons and items laying on his bed. "What're you up to?" she asked.

"I figure it's good to be prepared since we don't know what's down there anymore," he replied, setting the mirror shield on the bed.

As he slipped the power bracelets onto his wrists, Tetra scanned the series of items on his blanket, looking for something. "Not taking my charm?" she inquired finally, referring to the pirate's charm she'd given him the first time they met.

"You mean this one?" he responded, smiling as he drew it out from the collar of his shirt. The small blue stone was an enhanced gossip stone created by the King of Hyrule. It allowed its users to communicate over long distances.

"It's been quiet for a long time, huh?" Tetra smirked back.

"Yeah…," Link replied, thinking of the King of Hyrule again.

"You gonna use the boat to head down there?" she asked.

"Only if I can't float down on my own," he replied. "I think I should be able to."

"Just don't wanna see Korl, huh?" Link didn't answer but finished arming himself. "Better get going, then."

"I'll be back soon," he replied, leading the way out of his room and up to the deck. He met Navi outside, hovering over the railing as she observed the Tower of the Gods.

"The Tower is magnificent. I never thought the goddesses would leave such an impressive structure in the mortal realm," she said.

"It was sure a pain to climb, though," he responded. "Ready?" She bobbed in the affirmative, so he climbed over the rail and dropped into the water below. The pirate ship couldn't approach the entrance to the Tower because of the large ring of arches around its front, but they'd pulled as close as they could. Now it was up to Link to stay afloat until he reached the portal to the ancient kingdom.

As he neared the Tower's giant arched doorway, Link stopped swimming and treaded water, knowing this was where the portal normally sat. "Gods of the Triforce, please let me enter Hyrule again!" he shouted, raising his left hand, presenting the Triforce of Courage within him. The golden triangle on his hand glowed bright for a moment, and suddenly a golden ring of light formed in the waves ahead of him. "Here goes nothing," he declared. Link took a deep breath and dove under the water.

Link and Navi sank slowly through the water, approaching the land beneath the waves. The trip felt odd for Link, who'd always been in a boat for the journey. Looking to the west, he saw the great black tower rising up from the distant hills. He thanked Farore that the King of Hyrule would still be at the top of Ganon's tower. He did not have time to dwell on his old friend, though, as he suddenly found himself breathing normal air again. Landing gently in the small pool in a courtyard of Hyrule Castle, Link was almost surprised to see that everything was in shades of gray once more. But that was to be expected, since he'd sealed away Ganondorf's evil with the Master Sword.

"So, where do we find the book?" he asked once he'd finally entered the castle, taking in the mess left by Ganondorf's army.

"…This castle is… new," Navi stated.

"What do you mean?" Link replied.

"Well, I guess they must have rebuilt it since last I was here. Everything is so different," she answered.

"…You don't know where it is anymore?" Link realized.

"Well, no." Link nearly fell over from exasperation. "I might hazard a guess or two, though. It used to be in the castle basement, so it might still be."

"Okay, that helps. The basement is this way. It's where the Master Sword used to be," he answered, leading her down the stairs to an opening in the floor where a giant stone block with a statue of the Hero had been thrown aside and shattered. This led to the old sword chamber. In the center of the circular room was an empty pedestal where the sword once stood sheathed.

"It's likely that the Tome of Lineage would only be accessible to one who plays the song of Hyrule's Royal Family," Navi said once they'd looked around for a minute.

"I don't know it," Link said.

"Stand on the Triforce mark and I'll teach you," she replied. Link complied and pulled out the Wind Waker. "Conduct left, up, right. Left, up, right." Link nodded and did as he was told. Left, up, right. Left, up, right. The winds sang his song, and suddenly they heard a scratching sound as of stone against stone. Turning back to the stairs, Link was stunned and delighted to see the doorway that had appeared beneath the flight of steps.

"Let's go!" he declared excitedly, making for the door immediately. Down a dark, narrow corridor the door led them. Finally, though, it opened up into a large, well-lit room with high ceilings. The floor was covered in a large, heavily detailed map, including many landmarks Link had never heard of. "Is this Hyrule?" he asked.

"Indeed. It looks like the wizard's magic has kept it changing so that it appears the same as it does currently," she answered, flying over to an area labeled as "Death Mountain" and a town called "Kakariko Village." "You can tell because Kakariko used to be up in the mountains, and by the Hero of Time's age it had gradually moved down to the base."

Link knelt down and ran his fingers through a spiral-shaped groove in the floor. He had wandered over to an area of the map that was colored gold like the sand. Then he came to a sudden realization. "This room has color!" he exclaimed and began looking around for monsters.

It took Navi a moment to comprehend what he'd just said and another moment to deduce an explanation. "I think I see. Because of the constantly changing nature of the Tome of Lineage, this chamber must somehow exist beyond the flow of time."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, even if the rest of Hyrule is frozen, this room needs to continue undisturbed so that the Tome of Lineage can continue to record the whereabouts of the royal families." This seemed to make sense, so Link nodded and continued to look around the room. The book was not there, but there was a large door with a glowing orange symbol at the opposite end of the room.

"I guess that's where the book is hidden," he said, making his way over.

"Then let's get it, and get out of here!" Navi declared, following him.

Link opened the door and they both stepped through to the other side. They were met by sand beneath their feet, a wave of heat, and bright light in their eyes. "What in the--?" Link shielded his eyes from the light.

"This is unexpected," he heard Navi say. When he removed his arm from his face, he looked around amazed. There were hills of sand for as far as the eye could see. Even the door had disappeared from behind them.

"It looks like the beach with no water!" he exclaimed. "What is this place?" Navi sighed and drooped exasperatedly. Having lived in the Great Sea his whole life, Link had never seen a desert before. Nevertheless, she was confused by their surroundings as well. "Where's the book?"

"I don't know," she shook from side to side. "This isn't at all what I expected." She squinted through the light and saw a pole with a red flag sticking out of a dune ahead of them. "There. Do you see that?" she asked.

"Barely," he responded, looking ahead but his vision distorted by the waves of heat rising from the sand. He could just barely make out the flagpole.

"I'm guessing that'll lead us to where we're going," she said, leading the way ahead. Link hesitated but followed.

"If you say so." As they walked on, he was careful not to get caught in the sand, treading as though he were on the beach. When they reached the first flag, they could make out a second one and followed it. Then a third one appeared, and they followed flags all the way across the desert. Every once in a while, he felt a breeze coming and prepared to enjoy a cool zephyr but was always met with a burning wind, searing his skin.

Just past the second flag, Navi suddenly cried, "Watch out!" Link looked up just in time to see a green blob-like creature pop out in front of him. Far too used to being ambushed, he had no trouble in dispatching the thing. "What was that?" he asked.

"It's called a leever. Be careful; there are bound to be more of them," Navi advised.

He nodded. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that these monsters aren't frozen," he said. Indeed, more leevers did periodically attack, but they were easy enemies to defeat. Finally, they could see their destination: a low, clay brick shelter with two more red flags guarding the entrance. "That's it?" he asked. The tiny hut didn't look like anything important, but it was the only structure they'd seen, so they quickened their step and quickly approached.

Navi led the way inside through a beaded curtain, and exclaimed a "Whoa!" once inside. Now very curious, Link followed her in and repeated the sentiment. Contrary to its meager exterior, the interior looked none-too-shabby. There was a plush carpet on the floor and various spears and swords hanging on the walls. There were two pools of water on either the left or the right, and the room itself was cool enough to relieve a person of the desert heat. Also, the entire hut seemed to be well lit, though there was no light source to be seen.

Link spotted the pools of water and made his way over, kneeling down to scoop some up. Before he could touch it, however, Navi flew down in front of him to stop him. "I wouldn't do that, actually," she said.

"What? Why?" Link bleated.

"I don't think it's here for our use. And lower your voice," Navi answered.

"What? Then who is it for?" he asked.

"Harena," Navi whispered.

"Who?"

"Harena," Navi repeated, floating over to a large painting that covered the entire back wall of the hut. The painting was of a woman with fiery red hair. Wrapped around the woman's arms and shoulder like a boa was a large green snake. She wore white lipstick, and her eyes were closed so he could see pearly mascara on her eyes, her entire face fairly expressionless. Link recognized the white-colored clothing she was wearing, though he didn't know it was Gerudian. He'd seen it that very day, in the chamber that once housed the Master Sword in the stained glass portrait of the Sage of Spirit.

"Who is she?" Link queried.

"Goddess of Spirit. She created the Gerudo, who resided in the desert, earning her the nickname 'Goddess of the Sands,'" Navi answered. "She's the younger sister of the Golden Goddesses."

In the painting, in a position that made it look like she was holding it in her hands, was a relic of amber. It was shaped kind of like a spiral, but the inner end thinned out but then bulged again into a shape somewhat similar to a small beehive. The outer end was bulbous and had two smaller bumps on either side.

Link stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out what the spiral reminded him of, until he looked at the snake wrapped about the woman. "It's a snake!" he exclaimed suddenly. He also realized he'd seen an indentation on the map in that same shape. "Will we be taking this then?"

"Yes," Navi answered. Link nodded his head and reached out his hand to take the relic. "Wait!" she whispered suddenly.

"What?" he halted, looking around at her.

"Look at the painting," she said.

"Huh?" He looked up and was startled to see the eyes were open, staring down at him with irises of a sharp amber color. "Is she angry?"

"If I recall, Harena is rather proud," Navi replied. "She would probably take it as a grave insult if you simply took the snake without acknowledging her highness first." Link looked at her quizzically. "Try bowing."

"Um, all right…." Link bowed to the goddess and look up at her again. He was startled to see she was now frowning slightly. "Navi?"

"Try bowing a little lower," Navi suggested. Link lowered his head and continued to bend over. "A bit lower. …Lower. …Lower. …Little lower."

"Navi, if I go any lower I'll be kissing the floor," Link muttered.

"Might wanna try it then," Navi said.

Link grimaced, glancing up at the sand goddess, who was still frowning at him. He kissed the floor. He looked up once more and found that the frown had become an amused smile. "You can straighten up now," Navi told Link, and he did so. Looking up again, the goddess' hands had spread, and the snake relic popped out of the painting into Link's hands.

"Now what?" he asked, slipping the relic into his pouch. "Do we have to cross that wasteland again?"

"It's called a desert," Navi finally told him.

"Oh. Well, do we have to walk across the desert?" he posed. They heard a creaking noise and turned to see Harena's painting swing forward like a door.

"It doesn't look like it. Look!" Navi cried, floating toward the doorway. Through it, they could clearly see the room with the map. "Let's go!" she declared, starting out.

"All right." Link started to follow, but before he exited, he had a thought and swung the painting out again for a moment. Looking up at the goddess, he bowed once more. "Thank you very much!" he said. Happily, Harena smiled once more and swung shut behind him when he left. When the painting shut, Link turned around to see but only found the hallway from whence they'd entered. "Wow."

"Hey!" Navi called from the map. He crossed over to where she hovered over the desert. "I think you need to put that relic inside that little groove," Navi told him.

"Right," Link said, fitting the item into the indentation. It slid right into place and stuck. The desert glowed and Link was suddenly met with a hot, sandy wind. That done, he stood up and looked around to see if another door might have appeared or opened. "Where to now?" he asked.

"This door again, I think," Navi replied, floating over to the door they'd used to enter the desert. It still had a glowing symbol on it, but it looked different somehow, and not just from its new purple tint.

"That doesn't make sense. We just went out into the desert and that hut was the only thing out there," Link responded.

"Humor me," Navi bade. Link shrugged and opened the door.

His eyes had to adjust anew, but this time to a heavy darkness. On the other side of the door-- the same door through which they'd entered the desert-- was a dark graveyard that spread out and became a wide cemetery. The moon hung overhead and a gray and wispy mist hovered over the ground. The graves and trees were all overhung with moss, and the only light, save from the moon and stars, came from lanterns in the trees and on the ground. "How did this get here?"

"I would guess that the wizard and jester were very good at what they did," Navi answered, watching the graveyard. There was a dirt path laid out ahead of them. Suddenly they felt a cold wind blow through them, making an eerie creaking sound in the trees. Navi yelped and dove into Link's hat. "Why do places associated with Shadow always creep me out?"

The trees creaked once more, and Link too was getting a little nervous. "So, onward?" he appealed. Navi shivered in response. He was thankful to have a path laid out for him this time, but Link would have much preferred some light to show his way.

After some time of walking, Navi poked out of Link's hat. "Do you see anything yet?" Just as she said this, a lantern leapt up off the ground and began swinging at them. Both Link and Navi shrieked in fright, and while Navi hid again, Link thankfully managed to remember his shield and blocked the attack. After being opposed, a poe materialized holding the lantern. Now that it was solid, Link attacked it with his sword until it cried out despairingly and disappeared in a flurry of flames.

"You okay?" Link asked, lifting the brim of his hat for a moment. Navi grabbed it and pulled it back into place.

"Let me know when we're out of here!" she charged him. Link shook his head and continued on his path, dispatching several more poes along the way.

"Hey, Navi. We're here," Link whispered uneasily. Navi looked out once more to see that they'd reached a building made of dark gray stone. It looked like a mausoleum, especially with the gothic columns supporting the roof and the dead, moss-hung trees that guarded each side of the doorway. '_This looks worse than the Earth temple,_' he thought but didn't speak so as not to worry his fairy friend.

Stepping through the doorway, however, he was glad to find the interior to greatly relieve the exterior. This was clearly another shrine, though slightly different from the one in the desert. Instead of some unseen light source, it was clear that the light and the warmth were coming from torches lining the walls. There was another carpet on the floor, though it seemed to be made of an entirely different material. And instead of pools of water, there were books. Shelves and tables full of books-- some about history, some magic, others about weaponry, others medicine.

"Harena pushed her people to be strong, hence the blades in her shrine," Navi said, having looked out once she felt the warmth of the room. "Sheik, however, preferred his people to be well-rounded."

"I bet they get along well…," Link commented, looking up at the painting on the back wall as he stepped further in. The subject was a young man with short, messy black hair swept back from his forehead. He wore a loose-fitting, knee-length, hooded black coat with a slit up the front. Beneath was visible a pair of baggy white pants with red triangles around the hems. Over the coat he wore a simple leather breast-plate, the straps of which were patterned with alternating red and white triangles. In his hands was a relic made of amethyst and in a shape resembling an eye. His own eyes helped give his somewhat youthful face a sense of wisdom and experience: they were scarlet, and though he wore a warm smile on his lips, his eyes seemed mournful and weary.

"He seems nice," Link commented. "Except for the whole creepy graveyard theme."

"Do not be misled by the darkness of shadows," Navi rebuked him, as he approached the center of the room. "Sometimes all that hides in shadow is the light waiting to reveal itself."

"Says the fairy in the hat. Ow!" She had pulled his hair.

Link stood in front of Sheik's painting. The painting's subject seemed to look down at Link with mournful eyes, though his smile was welcoming and bright, belying his area of expertise. Link bowed, lower than he started for Harena, but not as low as he'd ended. The amethyst eye popped right out of the painting into Link's hands. Almost immediately after, the painting opened to reveal the map room again. Link bowed once more and retreated to it.

"He has endured much, Sheik has," Navi said, exiting Link's hat as they reappeared in the first room. "It amazes me that the painting is aware of the misfortune that plagued the shadow people. Though I suppose it shouldn't surprise me since this structure was built as a means to watch over all peoples of Hyrule."

She flew over to what looked like a village at the base of the mountains. "Put that relic here!" she instructed excitedly. Link nodded, crossing the floor and sliding the eye into the groove. When it was safely in place, a shadow seemed to pass over them. Navi appeared to shiver slightly. "Shadows… yeesh!" Link had to smile slightly at her behavior. "Come on! We're not done yet!"

* * *

Me: Okay, this author's note is going to be ridiculously long, but, oh, well. Now is when I will thank all the reviewers again! I got lots of birthday wishes from my family, friends, neighbor, and all my reviewers and friends here at Thank you to SuperSmashGal, Bvv, and compman44 for your birthday wishes and gifts, and thank you to Ri2 and Nny11 just for the reviews!

To compman44: Thank you for the rocket launcher. I'll put it to good use (glares in direction of former English teacher's house). Also for the Mantra of Removal. I had already come up with something, but I'm gonna try playing yours and see which one I like better (it would help if I could remember if I wrote mine in ocarina directions or the musical notes though...).

Oh, and don't worry about me missing out on celebrating. Today (which is technically Friday) my mom is taking me for lunch, gift shopping, and a cake. We put it off because today was her day off, and I'm getting a party in a couple weeks. And besides, I love working on this story. My sister is even becoming jealous!

To Bvv: I prefer yellow cake really, but chocolate's good too! And confetti is already cool. Did you by any chance borrow it off of Tingle? Lol.

Answering some questions, a couple people- more specifically compman44- are unclear on why sealing Ikana causes the song to backfire. It is because the seal on Ikana locks away the magic that the song draws on. Without access to that magic, the song cannot function and ends up doing what it did to Selphie. I hope that's a bit more clear...

A few unasked questions might be starting with, "Who the hell are Suna, Seiryu, Jabun, Volvagia, and Koboku?" I'm sorry, but that is just a little too involved. You'll be figuring that out as we go along, I'm afraid. Just to be clear though, Jabun is, well, Jabun, the giant fist. Volvagia is the same one from Ocarina of Time and currently incarnated as the benevolent Valoo. And as I said before, Koboku is the Great Deku Tree. Everything else, like I said and like so many other things, you'll figure out later.

Those relics- more specifically Jabun, Volvagia, and Koboku's- are supposed to look just like the spiritual stones from OoT but without any gold. I'm pretty sure I did a sucky job describing them, but now that you know, I feel a little better.

One more thing: I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but several words made their reappearance in here. ("Hey!" "Listen!" "Watch out!") As for that... heh heh... I feel evil...

One last announcement. It is incredibly unlikely that I will be updating later today/tomorrow morning. As I said, I'm doing stuff with my mom for my birthday and will not have a heck of a lot of time to work on this. The combined efforts of tomorrow and Saturday (which also might be difficult to work with, as I have my friend's b-day party to go to) will probably yield another chapter Saturday evening- Sunday morning.

Okay, guys. R&R! See you later!

...Teeheehee! ...the balloons make me giggle... Teeheehee!


	6. Chapter 5

Edit (6/23/08): I did a complete overhaul of the chapter. Now, hopefully, it doesn't read like a 16 year-old wrote it. I think it's better now. I made some decent-sized changes, but the story is, overall, the same. The last revision left chapters not flowing into each other, but this one puts it back on track. Huzzah. Enjoy.

* * *

Me: Finally I'm back! Sorry this took a bit longer than expected. Got caught in a movie Saturday night and forgot to work on it!

Din: She's got her priorities straight.

Me: Why do I keep letting you guys in my author's notes?

Nayru: You don't let us do anything.

Farore: We do it all on our own.

Me: I wonder how long it took for your mom to train you to do that...

Goddesses: --

Me: Thanks to all my reviewers: SuperSmashGal, Kearra (Happy sweet 16, girl!), Bvv, and compman44 (what do you mean a couple people? o.o).

Darunia: Disclaimer: She does not own anything Zelda-fied.

Tingle: The only characters she does own are Selphie, Dimitra, Mace, Curt, and this particular Sakon.

Darunia: It's not the same one from Majora's Mask. It's his ancestor.

Me: Oh, and many pardons to Kearra and anyone else this may have affected- but mostly Kearra. I forgot in the last chapter to disclaim the deities. They came from the mind of my best friend and she gave me permission to use them (though I am plotting to kidnap Seiryu...)

Darunia: o.O Excuse me?

Me: Er... o.o;;; (if you were unaware, among the community, I am engaged to Darunia...) Anyway, so, compman44 and any others, if you have any questions about the deities of Hyrule, direct them to Kearra.

* * *

Chapter 5

Beyond the door following the shadow shrine was a river that they were floated down on a boat, taking out a few octoroks on the way. At the end was a cave behind a waterfall for a shrine, fish the apparent offering and a painting of a humanoid Jabun, the great fish who had bestowed to Link Nayru's Pearl. He was chubby, as Link expected, though he was not grossly corpulent. He had a round bald head, with deep-set blue eyes, and a rather pale complexion. He wore swim trunks made of a slick blue material that Link realized, upon closer inspection, was actually thousands of fish scales sewn together. His top half was protected by a net-like shirt made of gold scales strung together and woven into a lattice pattern (Navi explained that Jabun liked to swim-- obviously-- so he wore clothes that would not slow him down in the water). The relic was sapphire and shaped in three arcs that joined together like a triangle. Link thought he'd seen the symbol before but couldn't place it.

Following that, they had to trek up part of a mountain, crossing lava pools and dodging red bubbles. At the top was a cave with many beautiful stones as the gift to the fire deity-- oddly enough, several seemed like they'd been bitten off of. The fire deity himself was named Volvagia, a young man with hair so short it looked like red fuzz brushed onto his scalp. His eyes were also red, though fiery not sad. He wore tight clothing-- a red sleeveless shirt over a gray long-sleeved shirt, white pants, and black boots. What were more odd were the belts at the hems of each article of clothing, holding them tight in place. He held a ruby that was shaped similar to a flowering tulip with an egg growing out of it that was pointed at one end.

"Is there a particular reason for the tight clothes?" Link asked, taking the relic.

"Loose clothing catches fire easier."

Finally, Link had made his way down a forest path, eliminating something Navi called a wolfos. He reached a hollowed out tree -- a most effective shrine for the forest deity: "Gretederu!" Navi exclaimed, rushing toward the painting. Link took his time and looked around. It looked as if Gretederu didn't have much need for gifts and praise. All that decorated his shrine were a few plants and flowers here and there. Every once in a while, Link would see water drip from the ceiling onto them.

Navi turned back and could tell what he was thinking. "The only thing that brought him joy was caring for and watching his children grow," she answered his unasked question.

"The plants?" Link asked.

Navi bobbed, "And the Kokiri, or Koroks now."

"The Koroks? Then he's…?" Link stammered.

Navi giggled, "The Great Deku Tree."

Looking around, Link finally noticed the painting and was surprised to see a young man wearing a green tunic like his own. They differed in that Gretederu wore brown pants unlike Link's white leggings. Gretederu also had curly brown hair that hung into his warm green eyes. He smiled tenderly down at Link.

"He took root in the forest when Hyrule was created and watched over his children, the Kokiri," Navi explained. "You get your green tunic from him because the Hero of Time wore the same tunic as Gretederu."

Link nodded his head, smiling. He was about to bow down to the forest deity when the relic popped out of his hands-- an emerald cut in a swirled shape much like the symbol Link saw in the Forbidden Woods near Forest Haven. Upon looking up again, he found that Gretederu was winking down at him. Link grinned up at him before turning around to enter the blue portal.

When Link was in the main room again, he slipped Gretederu's relic into its groove near the forest. Several leaves fell down on him but disappeared.

"There seems to be a room for every deity that made a people of Hyrule, so there's one more to go," Navi stated, leading the way to the door. Beyond was an open field full of sunlight.

"Bright," Link commented, shielding his eyes. There was no visible source of shade anywhere.

"What do you expect from a goddess of light? Not more graveyards, I would hope," Navi tittered. Link laughed in response. Crossing the field proved as arduous a task as the last five treks. After eliminating several peahats, Link finally spotted the light goddess' dwelling-- a stone foundation with marble columns surrounding to give a sense of enclosure. As Link approached, however, he got the sense that it was meant to be open and the lack of a roof was no fluke. From two columns at the far end of the structure, suspended by two heavy gold chains, hung the goddess' portrait. Various candles and lanterns lay about as her peoples' gifts to her.

Navi floated over quickly and bobbed low, apologizing for something quietly. He heard her say the name "Dealuma." The woman in the painting, a serene smile on her lips and a cheerful twinkle in her eye, seemed to forgive Navi whatever grievance she had committed. Link focused on her appearance for the moment, which was entirely different from her sister. She had a fair complexion, light blue eyes, and fine curls like white gold, much of which was tucked into a silver cap. She wore a simple pale yellow dress with thin straps. On her arms were tied partial sleeves, shaped like bells that widened at the wrist. The ultimate accessory, however, was a scarf that hung about her shoulders and arms. It was made of a silvery translucent material that seemed to glow, shimmer, and sparkle. In her hands was a sun-shaped relic made of gold.

Link stepped forward to take his bow and thought aloud, "Wait, which people did Dealuma create?" He looked up at the painting and was astonished to see one arm had moved so that only one hand held the relic. The other was pointed at Navi. "Fairies?"

"…Guilty," Navi replied. "We're not much of a tribe though, and we never had any one place to really stay until the flood when Dealuma made the Mother and Child Island. She and Gretederu always got along very well though, so that's why some of us partnered with his Kokiri. Most of the partner fairies were trapped below during the flood though." Link waited for her to go on, but instead she said, "But there will be time for that later. We are trying to save your friend quickly, so we must keep moving." Link nodded and turned to the painting and bowed. The sun popped right out, and Link bowed to her once more. Despite having no wall, the painting still managed to open like a door and led them back to the first room.

Link found the hollow for the relic in the middle of Hyrule Field. It locked into place, and they were met with a bright light. When the light disappeared they were met with silence and an empty room.

"…Now what?" he asked Navi. Navi looked down at the floor. It started rumbling beneath Link's feet.

"Er, now you might want to get off the map of Hyrule," Navi said.

"Why's that?" Link inquired. He quickly received his answer, however, as the floor slowly split open, sliding outward in two halves to reveal a set of spiraling stairs beneath. Link, who was standing right on top of this, quickly lost his footing as the floor moved out from under him. "Whoa--! Waaah!" he cried out as he fell down, hitting the stairs and doing a combination of rolling and bouncing down the stairs until he landed at the bottom.

Navi winced and floated toward the hole in the floor, listening as he called back, "Oh… that's why…." She flew the rest of the way downstairs and found Link sitting himself up.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he said, standing and dusting himself off. A moment later they noticed the large door in front of them. Without saying a word, the two nodded to each other and pushed the door open, stepping inside.

* * *

"_I suppose I owe you an apology. All dat ranting about dat mala devushka and her sash, and you vere right dee whole time."_

"_I'll forgive you, if you tell me we can use it to look outside."_

"_I already am. Now hold onto it and be quiet so dat I can hear."_

_Were there other people on board the ship? Wasn't it a little early for guests? Or was it too late? Selphie didn't even remember going to sleep, but what other explanation was there for her eyes being so tightly closed? And why was she on her back? Selphie floated between consciousness and unconsciousness while she wondered why the ship was so cold and why she, apparently, was not in her bed._

"_Oy! Don't I get a look?"_

"_Just keep watching the girl!"_

_Selphie's heart skipped a beat, and it sank to the pit of her stomach. She recognized the last voice. Slowly, reluctantly, she opened her eyes, praying for it to be a dream, or rather a nightmare._

_But the first thing she saw was a Zora standing over her, crossing his arms as he turned away from his companions. In horror, Selphie identified him just as he noticed her open eyes. Curt suddenly smirked excitedly. "Mornin'!"_

_Selphie let out a piercing shriek and tried to back away from him. Unfortunately, she was on top of a table and quickly found the edge, falling to the floor amongst a clatter of chairs. This all drew the attention of the other occupants of the room, helped by Curt's call of, "Look who's finally awake!" Scrambling to her feet, Selphie looked around and quickly darted to the only door in the room. The four villains did not hasten after her, and she soon found out why: the door was barred off by a heavy portcullis._

_Gasping and panicked, Selphie pressed her back against the door and faced the villains who had, by now, approached her. Remembering suddenly her telekinesis, Selphie waved her arm, attempting to throw them all back. She waved two and three more times, but they didn't budge and she looked down at her waist. Her sash was missing._

_Sakon clucked depreciatingly as he stepped forward. "Tut tut, darling. Dimitra's not done her turn yet," he said, jerking his head back toward the Deku, who was holding onto the sash and appeared to be listening to another conversation entirely. "Y'know you should really learn to share your toys, darling. Especially the cool ones like that." As he took another step forward, Selphie reached into her belt loop and withdrew her boomerang, which they thankfully hadn't taken. Unarmed, Sakon ceased his approach. "Hiding your toys, now? How selfish of Selphie. I suppose I'll have to confiscate that one later."_

"_Where am I?" she asked, fearful. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Oh, I think the better question is, 'What are _you _doing here?'" Sakon returned. "See, technically you're the one intruding on our territory now, darling. We were here first. Been here about-- how long, Dimitra?"_

"_Nine hundred and ninety-eight years," Dimitra answered._

"_That long?" Curt and Mace exclaimed._

"_That doesn't make sense. You don't look a day older than the last time we saw you," Mace declared of Selphie._

"_She travelled through time. I can sense it on her," Dimitra called dismissively._

"_Well, the point is that we've been here ever since your friends sealed us up for that stupid song," Sakon said._

"_But I thought you had your souls removed," Selphie said slowly._

"_Well, yeah," Curt said, pointing at his torso. Selphie's eyes widened and she didn't know why she hadn't seen it before-- he was translucent. Through him and all the others in the room, she could see the walls, floor, chair, and other "furniture." Almost not wanting to look, afraid to confirm her suspicion, Selphie tilted her head downward, and, what she saw made her want to cry almost as much as seeing Sakon and the other villains: he was also semi-transparent._

"_What's happened to me?" she choked._

"_Hell if I know, but damned if I'm not gonna take advantage of it!" Sakon declared, taking another step toward her. Selphie raised the boomerang once more, but he just smirked and shook his head patronizingly. "Darling… it's three against one. Five if you count Curt and me." Mace flexed his oversized, gauntleted hands while Curt bore his sharp fore-fins. In the sudden ensuing chaos, Selphie almost forgot to struggle so doomed was she to failure._

* * *

White marble columns lined the walls of the last room. Red velvet satin curtains hung between them. Flames flickered brightly from gold wall sconces between the curtains. A blue velvet carpet with gold tassels ran from the door to the other end of the room. But for all its fine décor, the last room was empty. There was not even an extra door to mention.

"Where is it?" Link asked, stepping inside. Navi shook from side to side.

"Look around. Maybe there's a switch or lock of some kind," she said, floating ahead. Link followed, turning his head this way and that, looking for a clue to finding their treasure. Near the opposite wall, he came to a stop, finding the end of the blue carpet. The carpet was cut off where a giant square tile was set in the floor. On that tile was emblazoned three golden triangles, the symbol of the Triforce.

"Navi, could this be something?" he called her. She flew over and looked down at the mark.

"Yes! Yes, that is the mark of Hyrule's Royal Family!" she declared. "This is what we've been looking for. Conduct the royal song again." Nodding, Link took out the Wind Waker and waved it left, up, right again.

Without warning, they heard the sound of stone against stone again, and, right before them, they could see a section of floor rising up against the wall. Out of the middle of this rose a marble dais with a brown rectangular object setting upon it. When the movement ceased, there stood stage in front of them with about five steps leading up to the stone pedestal.

"That's it!" Link breathed in relief, starting toward the stairs. Suddenly, though, the lights in the room dimmed slightly, and he froze on the spot. "What was that?" he asked.

"That was an entrance, and I do love to make one!" came a voice from an unseen source.

"What?" Link called out nervously, looking about for the origin of the sound. He felt a chill up his back and couldn't help but turn around. When he turned back he gasped as he found a man floating above the dais. The man wore a puffy-sleeved shirt and a vest in a green and gold motley pattern to match the paint on his face. His green pants were normal enough, but the definitive article of clothing was the belled hat perched atop his head.

One other thing about the man: he glowed. Link gaped at the clown, who smirked and vanished before his very eyes. "What's the matter?" Link turned around. "You look like you've seen a ghost." He turned once more and found himself face to face with the man who waved his bauble.

"Wah!" he screamed, taking an involuntary step backward and falling.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" the man chuckled, floating on his back and kicking his legs before flying back down and crouching in midair over Link. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just a memory anyway. Couldn't if I wanted to." Link flinched as the man proved this point, swinging his bauble across Link's face: it passed right through without leaving a mark.

As the man floated back from him up to the dais, Link got to his feet again. "Who are you?" he asked.

The man swept the belled hat jingling from his head, holding it to his chest as he bowed to Link. "They call me Astus, and I am a jester in the king's court," he said.

"A jester?" Navi asked, peeking out of Link's hat to see. "You're the jester who helped create the Tome of Lineage!"

"I see my reputation precedes me," Astus smiled, replacing his hat.

"Wait, I thought there was a wizard or something, too," Link said confusedly, stepping a bit closer.

"Well, yeah! He's--," Astus looked around and realized they were alone. He sighed to himself, "Wicca, your age has finally caught up with you. Well, as you might say, beauty before age." He took a deep breath… or the spiritual equivalent, and shouted, "Wicca, better late than never doesn't make tardiness a virtue!"

Suddenly another glowing body appeared floating next to Astus. This one had simple long and flowing robes of Persian indigo with a silver astral pattern and a floppy pointed hat. He also had a long white beard and mustache that reached to his knees. "I believe patience is, though, Astus. Remember, we're not all as young as we used to be," he said calmly.

"Time and tide wait for no man, Wicca," Astus shook his bauble, chastising.

"An adage for every occasion. Might I ask, for what have we been summoned here?" Wicca inquired.

"For a tea party," Astus answered sarcastically.

"Astus…," Wicca said warningly.

"As the saying goes, Wicca: ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer," Astus replied. "You should know the only reason we would be here is because someone has come for the book. And here they are," he added, gesturing toward Link and Navi.

Wicca noticed the two for the first time and smiled softly. "Ah, so I see, so I see…," he said, nodding slightly. "Tell me, young sir. Are you not a fairy child from the forest? How come you so far from your homelands?"

"Huh?" Link blurted. He looked to Navi for explanation.

"No, no, sirs. He is not a Kokiri at all. The Kokiri gave up their human forms long ago," Navi cut in.

"Oh, yes. I forgot, the Great Rain…," Wicca murmured to himself.

"Forgive him," Astus said. "As a memory, you'd think his own memory would be quite keen, but it's dangerous to assume." He then explained, "Like the map and the paintings you saw, we also change with the times, so we know the state of the world, even if one of us has a memory like a sieve." He playfully knocked on Wicca's skull.

"If you are not a fairy child, young sir, then who are you, and how do you come to be in this kingdom below the sea?" Wicca queried.

"Link is a Hylian and the Hero chosen by the gods," Navi cut in.

"Is that so?" Wicca responded, his eyebrows arched and Astus' eyes wide.

"Sir!" Astus flew down and attempted to grab Link's hand to shake it. This was obviously unsuccessful. "My hat's off to you!" he recovered by removing his cap once more. "Whatever need you have of the book, o Link, chosen Hero, please, do not hesitate!"

"Dear Link, I wish you had come sooner. It is not every day I see Astus' wits escape him," Wicca chuckled. Astus became aware of himself and quickly floated back coolly.

"I mean, uh, we're not using it. One man's trash is another man's treasure, I suppose," he declared in affected indifference.

"Thank you," Link said, climbing the stairs and approaching the dais. The book lay upon it, fastened closed with a strap and buckle. The cover was made of soft leather with gold stitching and trim. Even the pages were edged with gold. Carefully, gently, he loosened the strap and opened the cover, turning to the first page. He turned to page after page, but he quickly realized, "It's blank?" The only page with anything on it was a small list near the front with items listed in various handwritings, several with tribes and kingdoms written next to them. "_Suspect impostor; confirm/deny. -- Labrynna._" "_King dead without heir; find successor. -- Jeimjine._" It obviously hadn't been handled extensively.

"Only until you are ready to use it," Wicca told him. "At that time, write your intent at the bottom of that list. The book will then present the information you need and show it until you have fulfilled your need."

"It has the right to share the information however it feels, so it's up to you to figure out how it's decided to work," Astus added.

"That's… elaborate," Navi replied, floating closer to inspect the book.

"It is what it needs to be," Wicca shrugged humbly.

"Bah! Wicca's too modest for his own good. I have no trouble declaring it, though: we're just that good!" Astus gloated. Link closed the book again and lifted it from its plinth.

"I need to get going," he said. "This book's the only way to save my friend, and I don't want to take my time."

"A rescue mission! What a Hero!" Astus declared. "Get you going, then, Hero!" Link smiled and started back to the door.

"Good luck, young Link," Wicca bade him as he and Astus began to fade away. "Farewell." Link turned to then just in time to see them bow to him, Astus' hat jingling in his hand, and disappear.

* * *

"Hoy! …Link's back! …And he's got… a book!" Tetra rushed to the railing at Zuko's announcement. It was night already, and Tetra could just barely see the dark figure in the water next to the Tower of the Gods. Indeed, it was Link, though, floating on the surface with a large brown book held over his head.

"Hoy! Link!" she called. Link wasn't the one who responded, though. Navi came flying toward them as fast as she could.

"Link can't swim without getting the book wet, and we don't know if it's waterproof," she declared. "He's kind of stuck."

"Oh, jeez. Well, you heard the fairy! Go get him!" she rounded on her crew.

"Aye, cap'n!" Gonzo, Senza, and Nudge shouted, leaping into the water and swam toward the tower.

"You got it, though, right?" Tetra turned to Navi. "No problem?"

"Yup. No problem. Link is clearly no stranger to dungeon-crawling," Navi replied.

"Obviously," Tetra responded. "Gods, Zuko, what's taking them so long?"

"They're… looking… for Link," Zuko answered.

"Looking? Isn't he there?" Tetra asked.

"…No."

"What?!" both girls exclaimed. "Where is he?!"

"Right here!" They turned around to see Link standing on the deck, holding the book over his head. Next to him stood a young Rito, wringing her hands anxiously.

"Medli! What are you doing here?" Tetra exclaimed.

"Looking for us," Link answered.

"It's terrible! Komali's been eaten!" Medli cried.

"What? When?" Tetra blurted.

"Just this morning," Medli replied. "We were taking a morning flight when suddenly Lord Jabun leapt out of the water and caught Komali in his mouth! I tried to reason with him, but he started making a strange sound and swam away."

"They need our help. Selphie will have to wait," Link said.

"Right, right," Tetra agreed. "Where'd he go?"

"I don't know, but it was toward the southwest," Medli replied. "Maybe he went back to his cave?"

"So, Outset we're thinking," Tetra stated, casting a glance to Link, whose eyes had lit up. "I guess you ought to make it morning if we want to fly."

"Wait a moment," Navi stopped Link before he could conduct the song of passing. "We needn't rush ourselves. Komali will be fine for a few more hours."

"But he was swallowed! Won't he be… _digested_ if we don't hurry?" Medli asked.

"Certainly not. Lord Jabun digests very slowly, and besides, Komali's not the first person he's ever swallowed," Navi explained.

"Really?" Link asked.

"Yes, in fact the Hero of Time made Jabun swallow him so that he could save the Zora princess, Ruto, who you saw in the stained glass in the castle basement," Navi replied.

"A Zora? Like Laruto, my predecessor?" Medli inquired.

Navi bobbed. "My point is, we can wait overnight before we go to Lord Jabun," Navi said.

"I'll get the boys to put her into overnight condition, then," Tetra declared. "Hoy! Get to work!" she shouted. There was no response. They all looked around. "Where are those bums?" Tetra posed.

As if on cue, Gonzo called out, "Miss Tetra! We couldn't find him! I-- I think he's--!" They were in the water next to the ship.

"Oh… forgot about that…," Tetra said. "He's all right! He made it back without your help. Now get up here, and get to work!" She tossed a rope over the railing to them, and in no time they were readying the ship for the evening.

"Hey, Link, bring that into my room," Tetra instructed, indicating the Tome of Lineage.

"Oh, right," Link nodded, following her inside, followed by Navi and Medli.

"What's that?" Medli asked.

"The Tome of Lineage. It's a book that tells you the members of every royal family in the world," Navi replied.

"Oh, Medli, I forgot. This is Navi. She was the Hero of Time's partner. And Navi, Medli is the Sage of Earth," Link introduced as they all crossed to Tetra's desk.

"It's lovely to meet you. I wish it were under different circumstances," Medli greeted.

"They could be worse," Navi replied, looking to Tetra.

Tetra caught Navi's glance and sat in her chair, turning the conversation, "So, Medli. How's Komali? Is he a good kisser?"

"What? What has he been writing in those letters? Has he told you we've kissed? Because we haven't!" Medli exclaimed. Link snickered while Tetra smirked and winked at the Rito. "Oh… well, if you must know, we've been having trouble getting alone time lately. Komali was grounded for ditching Quill a few weeks ago. He had to sneak out to come flying with me this morning." At that moment she spotted Selphie in the corner of her eye. "Oh, but you didn't tell me someone was sleeping in here! We could have woken her! Who is she?"

The other three glanced at each other. "Uh, that's Selphie, and you don't really need to worry about waking her," Link said.

"Trust me, we've tried," Tetra added.

"Oh, the poor thing! Is she sick?" Medli asked.

"We wish. You caught us in the middle of another quest. Selphie lost her soul," Tetra explained.

Medli's eyes widened, "She what?"

"She lost her soul, and we're trying to get it back. That's why we came back to the Great Sea," Link said.

"But how? I didn't know someone could lose their soul!" Medli declared.

"It's a little hard to explain," Link told her.

"But we've got all night, so why don't we just tell it to you from the beginning?" Tetra replied.

* * *

The Tower of the Gods, so immaculately white in the daylight, glowed every pink, orange, red, and gold in the sunrise. For a few minutes, the only sounds were the waves lapping against the boat and the wind ruffling the sails. In a moment, that all changed.

"Hoy! Sunup, boys! Wakey-wakey!" Tetra's voice rang out through the ship. And the ship sprang to life. The pirates dressed them selves and started to their work, Niko began with breakfast.

"Morning!" Medli greeted cheerfully, flapping down from Tetra's room.

"Hey. Sleep good?" Link asked.

Medli was about to reply when Navi flew down, "Hey, Link, you should come see something."

Confused, Link with Medli followed her back to Tetra's room and crossed to Tetra, who was sitting at her desk. "What's up?"

"After you went to bed, I suggested that Tetra write our mission into the Tome," Navi said.

"Oh, so, what does it say? Did it tell you the first person we're looking for?" Link asked.

Tetra nodded. "And guess who that person is," she said, turning the book toward him.

Link looked at her puzzled and looked down at the page. Before him was a long family tree of the Hylian Zoras. One name at the very bottom, however, was glowing to draw their attention, and it was not a Zora. "'Komali?'" he read, astounded.

"Yes, our Rito prince is actually the Zora prince," Tetra said.

"How is that possible?" Link asked.

"Personally, I'd like to focus on the heritage issue later," Tetra stated. "I think it's interesting that Prince Komali has been swallowed by Lord Jabun just when we need him to get into Ikana."

"What, you think there's some connection?" Link replied. Tetra shrugged. "Come on, I'm sure it's some kind of very strange coincidence."

"If you say so, but it doesn't make me want to get into Ikana any slower," Tetra answered. Link took a deep breath and thought about it.

"Well, let's hope it's a coincidence," he said, heading out to the deck. "Brace yourselves!"

"Oh, I remember this!" Medli exclaimed, taking hold of the desk. A moment later, the entire ship was spinning as it took off toward Outset Island.

* * *

Me: I had such a hard time writing out that freaking iron knuckle fight. Cause I always just ran up, ducked beneath its guard and hacked away until it died- usually with the aid of Nayru's love-

Nayru:

Din and Farore: --

Me: But I had to give it more drama than that. Anyway, I'm not sure if any of you have played the game Chrono Cross (if not I HIGHLY recommend it and its predecessor, Chrono Trigger), but if you have, a way to help you imagine Dimitra is the CC character, Harle, who was the basis of my depiction of Dimitra.

In addition, now that I don't run the risk of premature exposure to the characters, I also own Astus and Wicca. My schedule should be back to normal now so you can expect another chapter between tonight and tomorrow. R & R!


	7. Chapter 6

Me: Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry!  
  
Din: In case you're wondering what she's sorry for, it's for being so infrequent with the last couple chapters.  
  
Me: Sorry, sorry, sorry!  
  
Nayru: They'll live!  
  
Farore: Goodness, you act like you've got nothing better to do.  
  
Darunia: But she doesn't. It's summer vacation.  
  
Tingle: What about the birthday party? And the movie? And the cleaning her room thing? And the-?  
  
Me: Just do the disclaimer so they can get on with the story.  
  
Darunia: She doesn't own anything Zelda-fied.  
  
Tingle: The only characters she does own are Selphie, Dimitra, Mace, Curt, and Sakon. Not to mention Astus and Wicca who are unlikely to be making any more appearances.  
  
Me: Read on!   
  
'  
  
Chapter 5:  
  
The cyclone dropped the pirate ship some hundred yards off from Greatfish Isle. As they sailed in toward the island, they became gradually aware of a sound beneath the water. "What's that?" Medli asked.  
  
"I don't know..." Link answered. "It's coming from underwater..." He had a thought and went inside below decks. Tetra and Medli looked confused and followed. They found Link with the side of his face pressed against the floor.  
  
"Link... what are you doing?" Tetra asked suspiciously.  
  
"Listening... come down here," he said. The two girls looked skeptical, but obeyed. Below decks, because this part of the ship was underwater, they could hear the noise a bit clearer, though they could not tell what it was until they listened through the floor like Link.  
  
"...Someone's crying," Medli stated the thought that was in all their minds.  
  
"Yes they are," Link said.  
  
"But there're words in there too," Tetra said, listening hard. "It sounds like a different language though."  
  
"It sounds like the same language Lord Valoo speaks," Medli said. She concentrated hard. "It sounds like he's saying, 'I didn't... mean to?'"  
  
"He didn't mean to?" Tetra repeated. "Well, what's that supposed to mean?!"  
  
"I don't know," Link said, standing once more, the girls copying the action. "But whatever it is, it must be bad if he's this upset over it." He looked around, suddenly realizing something. "Has anyone seen Navi?" They looked around for a moment. "Navi?!" Link called. They were answered by the sound of a page turning in Tetra's room. Each gave the others a look of confusion as they headed toward the captain's quarters.  
  
Navi was over at Tetra's desk, turning pages in the Tome of Lineage- with a bit of difficulty, one might add. They approached her. "Navi? What are you doing?" Link asked.  
  
"Well..." she said, grunting as she turned the page. "As soon as I reach... page six twenty-eight... I hope to con... confirm my suspicions... about Prince Komali..."  
  
Link stared at her a bit incredulously, pushing her away from the book. "Well, it'll take you a couple days to confirm that suspicion that way," he said, taking a few pages in his hand and turning them. "Now, which page?"  
  
"Six hundred and twenty-eight," she answered. Link nodded and kept turning pages until he got to six twenty-eight. He looked down at the page and then turned his gaze to Navi.  
  
"Navi... this is the page with the Zora descendants for the fast few generations," he said flatly.  
  
"I know," Navi said, flying down to the page to scan over it.  
  
"Komali is a Rito. How is the page about Zoras going to confirm a suspicion about him?" Tetra asked, stepping closer.  
  
"Aha!" Navi cried out, body slamming the book at the end of the list. "That is how," she told them. Link and Tetra looked at her curiously and then looked at the spot in the book that she'd indicated. Their eyes widened in astonishment for a moment.  
  
"Komali's name is on the Zora list?!" Link exclaimed.  
  
"What the heck-? How can a Rito be the Zora heir?" Tetra asked.  
  
"Well, because the Rito evolved from the Zoras," they heard Medli behind them.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Well, think about it," she said, shrugging. "How else can I be the one to carry on the bloodline of Laruto?" Link and Tetra still looked utterly confused.  
  
"You see, guys," Navi explained. "The Zoras were very sensitive to changes in the climate. If anything changed about their habitat, it would completely throw them off until it returned to normal- which it usually did. However, when the Great Rain came, clearly the climate wasn't going to return to normal. With that being the case, if something was not done, the Zoras would soon die out."  
  
"Wait a second," Tetra interrupted. "How can the world being covered in an ocean be a disadvantage to a fish person?" she asked.  
  
"Even if the Zoras lived in the water, the water needed to be in an optimal condition," Navi clarified. "The salinity of the water in the Great Sea was far too high. And the waves are choppy and too rough." Tetra nodded her head in understanding.  
  
"The point is, they couldn't survive in the Great Sea. They tried for a while, but they realized it wouldn't last. That's when Lord Valoo came in and gave them his scales, allowing them to grow wings. After that, they gradually evolved the other features of a Rito without getting the scales first," Navi finished.  
  
"'Hoy! We've found the place, cap'n!" they heard Gonzo call from above.  
  
Link and Tetra finally seemed to understand and accept the fact that Komali was the heir to the Zora throne. This fact seemed to hit extremely hard when Link's eyes widened.  
  
"That means Lord Jabun swallowed the Zora leader we need to play the Bond of Brotherhood!" he exclaimed. Tetra's eyes widened as well, though Medli just seemed confused.  
  
"The Bond of Brotherhood?" she repeated. "What's-?" She was cut off by Link and Tetra dashing from the room, Navi following close behind. "Wait for me!"  
  
They returned to the deck and quickly made their way to the bow. Ahead of them was an overhang in the rocks, presumably the remnants of the cave Lord Jabun used to stay in.  
  
"Lord Jabu-Jabu!" Navi called in the Hylian tongue. He didn't appear. "Lord Jabu-Jabu! We know what happened and we're not upset!" Still nothing. "Lord Jabu-Jabu, he's going to stay in there and die if you don't let us help!" A few seconds later, the water ahead of them began to rise, rocking the boat, and the giant fish, Jabun, rose out of the waves.  
  
"Good day, Lord Jabun," Navi greeted.  
  
"Is it a good day, Navi?" he replied. "Is it a good day? You are aware that I have just swallowed the Rito prince- the heir to the throne of my people!"  
  
"We're aware of this, Jabun," Navi said. "That's why we're here."  
  
"What exactly do you suggest?" Jabun asked, calming down.  
  
"Lord Jabun... this isn't the first time you've swallowed the prince... or princess as the case may have been," Navi hinted.  
  
Jabun remained silent for a moment. "Are you suggesting that the Hero go inside me again?" he asked.  
  
Navi bobbed, "Yes."  
  
"Are you kidding me?" Medli blurted, and they all turned to look at her.  
  
"What are they saying?" Link asked nervously.  
  
"They want you to go inside Jabun too," Medli said. Link jumped in surprise.  
  
"Are you kidding me?!" he exclaimed.  
  
"No, no we're not," Navi said, breaking in. "It's the only way to save Komali... not to mention Selphie." Link grimaced, remembering their original intent in getting Komali.  
  
"All right... I'll do it..." he conceded.  
  
"Good," Navi said. She turned back to Lord Jabun. "Lord Jabun, you are okay with this?" Jabun simply opened his mouth wide and waited for Link to enter. "I'll take that as a yes," Navi said. "Come on, Link." She started went over the edge and flew over to Lord Jabun's open mouth. Link started to follow when Tetra caught his hand.  
  
"You still have that rock?" she asked, meaning the pirate's charm.  
  
"Yup," Link smiled, waving it off and jumping over the edge of the ship.  
  
"Good..." Tetra said quietly. She slowly turned around and saw the pirates with smug looks on their faces. "What, is that yer favorite expression now? Get back to work!" she ordered, crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
"But, cap'n," Mako spoke up, wiping the smirk off his face. "We're not going anywhere."  
  
"Do you always question your captain's orders?" Tetra retorted, placing her hands on her hips.  
  
"Er... no-."  
  
"Then get to work! Make this ship sparkle! When's the last time it was cleaned?" she ordered.  
  
"Aye-aye, cap'n!" they all shouted, and immediately scrambled below decks to get the buckets and brushes. Tetra massaged her temple exasperatedly.  
  
"So this is what the inside of a fish is like..." Link commented. He and Navi were making their way through knee-deep mucus lining a long tunnel that one could assume was the esophagus. He pulled his foot out of the slime with a sickening squelch. "Pleasant..."  
  
"At least there aren't any electrified jelly-fish this time," Navi replied. "Back during the Hero of Time's time, Jabu-Jabu swallowed the Zora princess, and we had to come in here to save her." She paused slightly, grimacing at the memory of the bratty princess.  
  
"So... Lord Jabun has a habit of swallowing his people's leader?" Link asked.  
  
"Last time he was cursed by the Evil King," Navi corrected. "He couldn't help himself. And I don't doubt that there is some outside force that caused him to do it this time too... but we'll wait until after we've rescued Komali to worry about that." Link nodded and reached a door of some kind. He looked to Navi questioningly. "Push," she instructed. Though skeptical, he did so, and it opened up.  
  
"Not a heck of a lot has changed since you were last here, I guess," Link observed, noting all of the electrified jellyfish floating around. He ducked as one passed overhead.  
  
"If that's the case, I don't suggest you touch them," Navi said, stopping him as he made to draw his sword. "Try the boomerang instead." Link shrugged, and pulled out his boomerang, targeting a jellyfish. It took it out, and so Link set about killing all of the jellyfish in the "room." Link looked around the room.  
  
"I still don't see Komali," he said, but he realized there was a large hole in the middle of the chamber. "That's a bit odd for the innards of anyone. Fish, deity, or otherwise."  
  
Navi rolled her eyes. "Let's move on. We have to find Komali," she said starting toward a sphincter on the other side of the room. Link ignored her for the moment and looked over the edge.  
  
"Is that a free-floating platform? How'd that happen in here?" he asked.  
  
"Come on, Hero," Navi said, grabbing him by the ear and pulling him toward the door.  
  
"Please would have sufficed," Link said, rubbing his ear, before he opened the door. He pushed on the sphincter and walked through. "More jellyfish," he said, walking into the room.  
  
"Oh, no..." Navi said.  
  
"What-? Whoa! What is that thing?" Link asked, pointing to the very large anemone in the center of the room. It had appendages reaching from its top, connecting to the roof of the chamber, and all of the large jellyfish seemed to be connected to it by streams of electricity. "Navi?"  
  
"Bioelectric Anemone..." Navi said. "Barinade."  
  
"I take it he was here back then too?" Link inquired.  
  
"...We'll talk about that later," Navi said. "For now, you just need to kill that thing off- aah!" she cried out as Barinade shot a bolt of electricity at them. Link managed to avoid major damage from the electricity, but he was unsure of how to go about defeating the creature. Meanwhile, the jellyfish that had been floating around the room had attached themselves to Barinade, creating a sort of jelly-fied armor.  
  
"Okay, Navi, what first?" Link asked.  
  
"First you need to sever it from the ceiling," Navi instructed. Link nodded, pulling out the boomerang. He managed to target each of the three appendages and sever the entire thing at once. It reminded him a bit of his battle with Kalle Demos, but he could not reminisce at the moment because the electrified jellyfish that were protecting Barinade had detached themselves and were now flying around the room.  
  
"Kill every one of those," Navi told him once they'd stopped moving. There were about ten jellyfish in all, and, with Link hitting around five each time he threw the boomerang, they didn't take long to get rid of. "Now all that's left is to finish it off with your sword. It might take a little while, and be ready to dodge it after the first few times you cut it," Navi informed him.  
  
With this advice in mind, Link hurried forward, drawing his sword. When he reached Barinade, he began cutting. It shrieked in pain a few times and shot a bit of electricity at him. "Get ready to run," Navi said when it started wiggling a bit, and Link obeyed, quickly backing away from the anemone.  
  
Imagine both their surprise when Barinade did not, in fact, start moving about the room as Navi predicted. That wiggling motion had actually signaled its end, and Barinade was now sprouting large, fuzzy red cysts all over its body. "Navi, I thought you said it would take more time?" Link said bemusedly, as he stared at Barinade.  
  
"I thought it would," Navi replied. When Barinade was completely invisible behind the mass of red lumps, it exploded into a shower of water, leaving no trace of the anemone. Navi stared in confusion at a puddle left by the explosion. "That was too easy... why was that so easy?"  
  
"Who cares? The point is it's gone," Link said. Then he remembered. "Wait, where's Komali then?" In the chaos of the battle with Barinade, he'd forgotten the whole reason he was even in Lord Jabu-Jabu's stomach to begin with.  
  
"I'm not sure," Navi answered truthfully. They looked about hoping that Komali would appear and their time inside Jabun was over.  
  
Wish granted. "Ack!" they heard above them. There was a kind of wormhole in the middle of the ceiling, where Barinade had been attached.  
  
Link and Navi looked at each other and then back at the ceiling. "Komali?" Link called.  
  
"Waah!" Komali cried as he fell through the hole and hit the floor of the chamber. "Ow..." he groaned, as he lie on the floor, face up.  
  
"Komali!" Link exclaimed, walking over. "What's up? Did you break something?"  
  
"No... but I think I sprained something when I hit the floor," Komali answered, sitting up.  
  
"Uh-oh. What is it? Leg? Wing?" Link asked.  
  
"Ugh... my pride," Komali answered, grinning. "Haven't fallen like that since I mastered flying."  
  
"Ha-ha," Link said sarcastically. "You're a real comedian, are you happy?" he asked, reaching down his hand.  
  
"As much as I can be after being swallowed by a whale in the middle of a da- a-a," Komali caught himself and slapped his hand over his mouth. "Shoot..." Link raised his eyebrow slyly.  
  
"Da-a-a-what?" he asked. Komali flinched and Link laughed. "So that's why you guys ditched Quill, huh?"  
  
Komali rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well... how would you like to have someone tailing you while you're out on a date?" he asked.  
  
"Why? Are you two doing anything that you shouldn't be doing?" Link asked.  
  
"What?!" Komali exclaimed his eyes widening. "No! Heck no! Nothing like that!" he raised his wings defensively. Link started laughing at him, and Komali shook his head smiling. "You're something else, you know? I'll bet you're just jealous that I got my girl and you haven't gotten yours."  
  
That wiped the smile off Link's face. "What are you talking about?" he asked, genuinely confused. It was Komali's turn to laugh, and as soon as Link realized what he was talking about, his face turned beet red. "No! That's not true at all! I don't like anyone in that way!"  
  
Navi now reestablished her presence. "Ahem! May I remind you that you're still in the belly of a whale?" she said.  
  
This was the first that Komali noticed her. "Huh? Who are you?" he asked.  
  
"I'll explain later," Link said. "For now, she's right. Let's get out of here."  
  
Twenty minutes later, Jabun opened his mouth and allowed Komali to fly Link back to the deck of the ship. "Komali!" Medli exclaimed when she saw him. As soon as Link was out of the way, she dashed over and threw her arms around his neck. "You're okay! I was so scared that you wouldn't make it!"  
  
"That was pretty fast," Tetra remarked, moving over next to Link.  
  
"Wasn't a heck of a lot in there," he admitted. "Thanks, Lord Jabun!" he called over the railing. Jabun replied, but they could not understand what he'd said. "Navi?"  
  
"'No, Link. Thank you,'" Navi translated. Jabun continued speaking though. "You don't say? ...I see... Yes, Lord Jabun. We'll keep you posted." The water deity nodded his head and dove beneath the waves again.  
  
"What was that about?" Link asked.  
  
"It was about what made him swallow Komali," she answered. "He said he was just swimming along and out of nowhere felt himself leap out of the ocean and open his mouth. The next thing he knew he felt something covered in feathers in his throat and a girl shouting Komali's name."  
  
"What does this mean?" Link asked.  
  
"I'm not sure yet... but there's something else about this that bothers me..." she said pensively, getting lost in thought.  
  
Komali put his arms around Medli as well, returning the embrace. "Nah, I wouldn't leave you hanging like that-," he answered, but was cut off by Medli's beak against his. His eyes widened and a few seconds later, Medli backed away, blushing madly. Komali was also rather red, especially as he realized all of the pirates were watching.  
  
Tetra looked around and decided to come to the two's rescue. "And what are you all looking at? Why aren't you cleaning?!" she shouted. The pirates jumped and returned to scrubbing the ship. She turned back to Komali and Medli. "You'd think they had nothing better to do that make situations awkward." The two nodded their heads uneasily.  
  
Komali looked up and his eyes widened. "Oh, no..."  
  
"What?" Medli asked, looking up as well. "Uh-oh..."  
  
"Hoy there!" came Quill's voice, as he started his descent. When he finally landed on the pirate ship, he walked right over to Komali and Medli, and glowered over them. Medli looked away, wringing her hands anxiously, and Komali just looked up at Quill, giving him a small smile. "Wipe that grin off your face," Quill said scathingly, and Komali's smile disappeared instantly. "I've been looking all over for you guys!"  
  
"Sorry, Quill..." they mumbled.  
  
"That won't cut it once your father gets here, Komali," Quill said, turning around and pointing to the sky.  
  
Komali's eyes widened. "You didn't!"  
  
"I did," Quill replied as the Rito chieftain landed behind him.  
  
"Thank you for coming to get me, Quill," he said, stepping up and glowering over his son.  
  
"Aheh..." Komali laughed nervously, giving his father a small smile and wave. "Uh... hi, Dad."  
  
"Don't you 'hi, Dad' me, young man," said the chieftain. Komali looked away guiltily. "You know why Quill retrieved me?"  
  
"Yes, sir..."  
  
"Why would you do this, Komali?" his father asked. "You are the prince of the Rito. You shouldn't be going off on your own. Something could have happened, and then who would have been there to lead your people in my stead?"  
  
"I know..." Komali said softly.  
  
"And you, Medli," the chieftain turned to Medli now, who cringed slightly. "I thought you were more responsible than this."  
  
"I'm sorry..." Medli murmured.  
  
"I'm sorry too, but after this, you're probably going to be grounded, though that is between you and your parents. Komali, however, will not be allowed to leave Dragon Roost for quite a while," he said.  
  
"What?!" the two teenagers exclaimed.  
  
"But Dad!" Komali exclaimed.  
  
"Don't blame me," Dad said. "It's your own fault. If you hadn't flown off on your own you wouldn't be in trouble."  
  
"Dad! We're not little kids! We don't need someone tailing us!" Komali said angrily.  
  
"Please, sir, my mother and father will be so angry," Medli pleaded, tears starting to well in her eyes.  
  
"I have to tell them, Medli," the chieftain said.  
  
"Why would you guys even want to be off on your own anyway? You aren't doing anything you shouldn't be, are you?" Quill asked.  
  
"No!" they both exclaimed, waving their wings defensively.  
  
The chieftain shook his head exasperatedly. "It doesn't matter. You're going to have to face up to your error no matter what." He turned around, preparing to take off. "Come on. It's time to go."  
  
Komali, Medli, and Quill were about to take off with him when Tetra spoke up again, "Actually!" They turned to look at her. "We actually have a situation..." she said. Quill raised his eyebrow, prompting her to continue. "We need Medli and Komali to come with us for a while."  
  
"What?" came the reply from Quill, Komali, Medli, and Link.  
  
"We need Medli?" he whispered, but Tetra elbowed him in the stomach.  
  
"What do you mean you need them to go with you?" the chieftain asked.  
  
"Well, it's a long story, especially if you tell it the way Navi does," Tetra said, not allowing them to ask who Navi even was before continuing. "But our friend Selphie lost her soul, and the only way to get it back is by gathering the last in the royal lines of the tribes of Hyrule." Quill looked down at her suspiciously. "Do you need to see the body?" she retorted.  
  
"No, that won't be necessary..." the chieftain said.  
  
"What about Medli? Why does she need to go with you?" Quill asked.  
  
"After we've gathered the seven descendants of those royal lines, we need Medli...s- Medli's powers... as the Earth Sage to... actually put the soul back in the body," Tetra lied quite well. Quill gave her another suspicious look.  
  
"Look, this is really important," Link tried to reason. "We need their help. And if they don't come, Selphie's soul will be trapped forever." The chieftain still looked reluctant. "You guys still owe me for saving Lord Valoo," he pointed out.  
  
"Blackmail... Link, I like..." Tetra whispered.  
  
"Shh!" he hushed her while the chieftain considered it. He looked down across his beak at them.  
  
"Komali and Medli may go with you. But only because they are needed for something greater, and also perhaps to satisfy their need to escape Dragon Roost so often," the chieftain conceded. Medli and Komali's eyes lit up. The chieftain looked down at them. "You will do what is needed and return to Dragon Roost as soon as possible. I expect you to not goof around. You are lucky to not be punished first. Is this understood?"  
  
"Yes, father!" Komali said.  
  
"Very well. Come, Quill. We must inform Medli's parents of her whereabouts," his father said, turning around and actually taking off this time.  
  
Quill looked back at Komali and Medli for a moment. "You're very lucky to have such friends as these," he said sternly. Komali and Medli looked at him nervously for a moment. But then Quill's features softened and he winked at them. They smiled and waved as he took off after the chieftain.  
  
When they were safely out of sight, Komali and Medli turned back to Link and Tetra, huge grins on their faces. "You guys are great! Thanks for saving our butts back there!" Komali said.  
  
"Oh, you're welcome," Tetra said.  
  
"Where'd you come up with that story anyways?" Medli asked.  
  
Link and Tetra looked at one another, realizing that they hadn't explained everything to the other two yet. "Actually... we were only lying about you, Medli. We don't technically need you to save Selphie," Link said.  
  
"What?" Komali asked. "Do you mean to tell me that the thing about your friend was true?"  
  
Link nodded his head. "Yes. We found Selphie on an island in the middle of the ocean. She time-traveled from ancient Ikana, a kingdom neighboring Hyrule. A song she learned there caused her soul to be taken away when she played it."  
  
"Oh, my gosh!" Medli gasped. "That's horrible."  
  
"And you need me to help get it back?" Komali asked.  
  
"Yes," Tetra said. "You, me, and five others will have to perform a song called the Bond of Brotherhood to open the way to Ikana." Komali nodded his head slowly, taking this in.  
  
"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. I'll do what I can," he said.  
  
"Thanks, Komali," Link said, clapping a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Wait, but why did you bring me along if you don't need me?" Medli asked.  
  
"Just lookin' out for our friend, and saving her from certain punishment," Tetra said, winking.  
  
"Not to mention we wouldn't want you two to miss each other too much," Link teased.  
  
Komali scowled at him. "Envy..." he whispered for only Link to hear. Link turned red and frowned. Komali smirked at him. "We're gonna work on that while I'm here."  
  
"All right, men!" Tetra shouted to the pirates. "You can stop cleaning now. Time for some grub!"  
  
"Aye-aye, cap'n!" the pirates all shouted, dropping their buckets and brushes all over and running for the cabin.  
  
"Ugh... did I mention it has yet to be cooked?" she asked them exasperatedly. That certainly slowed their pace. "Let's head on inside. It's getting dark anyway," Tetra said, starting toward the door.  
  
"While they're making dinner, could I discuss something with you guys?" Navi asked, following them inside to Tetra's quarters.  
  
"Is this her?" Medli asked, pointing to Selphie's body, lying on her bed in Tetra's room.  
  
"Ay," Tetra answered.  
  
"What's up, Navi?" Link asked.  
  
"Barinade," Navi answered.  
  
"Is that what the thing that got me back in Jabun's stomach?" Komali asked.  
  
"Mm-hmm," Navi bobbed in reply.  
  
"Well, what's the problem? I killed him didn't I?" Link said.  
  
"Yes, you did," Navi said. "But so did the Hero of Time."  
  
They stared at her for a moment. "What does that mean?" Tetra asked.  
  
"Back then, Barinade and the other creatures inside Lord Jabu-Jabu were the result of a curse placed on him by the Evil King," Navi answered. "When the old Link killed it, the curse was removed and Barinade should never have posed a problem again."  
  
"But then how can Barinade have been inside him just now when I got swallowed?" Komali asked.  
  
"That's what's troubling me..." Navi answered. "The only way Barinade could have been in there again would be if someone put another curse on Lord Jabu- Jabu."  
  
"What?" Tetra gasped. "Could it have been Ganondorf again? Do you think he's escaped?"  
  
"No, no, no!" Navi cut her off before she could work herself up. "No, I'm pretty sure it wasn't Ganondorf. While Barinade was in there, it was not nearly as strong as it was last time. It was too weak to be of Ganondorf's creation." They all let out a sigh of relief. "However... since Jabun is a deity, it would still take a lot of magic to put a curse on him. Ganondorf is one thing, but if this person or persons was able to even successfully curse Lord Jabun, let alone make him swallow Komali..." Everyone stood in silent thought.  
  
"I don't think we need to worry about the Triforce right now," Navi said finally. "But it can't be coincidence that they made Jabun swallow Komali. They are definitely trying to hinder us, which means we can't waste any time in finding the last five that we need, and-," she looked over at Tetra and Komali. "Whoever it is will probably try to come after you two... watch your steps."  
  
"Who are you, anyway?" Medli asked Navi. "I'm just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill partner fairy who's been around for nearly as long as Hyrule," Navi said. Medli nodded her head slowly.  
  
"Okay, then..."  
  
Suddenly, Niko appeared at the door and knocked on the frame. "What's up?" Tetra asked.  
  
"Soup's up. Dinner's ready," he replied.  
  
"Excellent. I'm starved!" Link exclaimed dashing out the door past Niko.  
  
"Oy! Wait up!" Tetra exclaimed, darting after him, Medli and Komali close in tow.  
  
"Urk!" Niko exclaimed as he was pushed aside. He sighed and peeked in the door at Selphie. "Hope you're okay..." he whispered, turning around and proceeding to the other area.  
  
"Should I save some for Niko?" Medli asked, looking into the pot on the table.  
  
"If you do, I won't," Nudge said. Medli shrugged and took the last of the stew.  
  
"Don't worry. You're the sage of earth. I think you're a little more important than Niko," Tetra said. Niko had walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a plate, but put it back half a minute later when he realized the stew was all gone.  
  
"Great. Bread and leftovers again it is," he muttered, taking out a small loaf of bread. "I wish I could show them what I'm really worth..." he muttered, taking a bite out of it.  
  
Sakon opened his eyes and smirked. "Don't worry, kid. They'll know what you're worth soon enough," he said. He'd just been watching the pirate ship, viewing the aftermath of the curse they'd put on Jabun. That, of course, had come right after he'd used Selphie's sash to make him swallow Komali. Jabun had let his guard down since Ganondorf was sealed away, making him an easy target for the telekinesis. After he'd swallowed Komali, however, he was much easier prey for their magic to bring back Barinade and prevent Link from getting the prince back.  
  
"Well, if nothing else, zis 'as taught us not to leave any margin of error, oui?" Dimitra said behind him.  
  
"Eh, just a minor setback," Mace said. "We'll ultimately win the race."  
  
"We'll get them later. For now, let's focus on the other four," Sakon said. He looked back at Selphie, who was sitting against the wall farthest from them.  
  
"Oh... you're bored, aren't you, darling?" Sakon said, kneeling down when he'd reached her.  
  
She glared at him. "I'm stuck in a dungeon with four insane convicts who want to escape and continue their evil deeds on the present world... absolutely tedious," she spat.  
  
"Aw, don't worry, darling," Sakon said, lifting his hand to stroke her cheek, but she jerked away and scooted away from him. "You'll have your part soon. You've a very important role." He moved right over with her and took a ponytail in his hand, smelling it. "A very important role..." Selphie scowled darkly and lifted her arm, bringing it back in his stomach. She felt herself thrown against the adjacent wall and fall to the floor.  
  
"Can't pull stunts like that without my sash..." she thought painfully, bringing her hand up to rub the back of her head. Sakon walked over and pulled her roughly to her feet.  
  
"You're lucky I like you, darling," he whispered in her ear.  
  
"Aw. Such a cute couple they make," Curt chuckled.  
  
"They should get married and have children," Mace added.  
  
Dimitra, however, narrowed her eyes. "Do not kid about zose kinds of sings, cochons," she said tersely.  
  
"Heh. Who's joking?"  
  
'  
  
Me: You don't know the half of it, Bvv. I will say no more than that. I forgot to thank SuperSmashGal, Kearra, and Bvv for the reviews. You guys rock.  
  
Anyways, I know the part inside Lord Jabun was really kinda sucky, but I didn't want to make it a full on dungeon. There will be plenty more of those later. I did, however, like my conversation between Komali and his dad. I thought it was kind of funny in an, "Ooooh! Busted!" kind of way. But in every review, I want there to be at least one "Aw!" for Komali and Medli. They were two of my fav charas in the game and I couldn't wait to hook them up in a fic.  
  
Finally, I have one question for you, the readers in regard to the Ballad of Gales: Do you guys think I should allow it to now warp them anywhere they want to go, or should I make them do all-mostly sailing once they leave the Great Sea again? Answer please or it'll be left up to my sis. Thanks, guys! R&R! 


	8. Chapter 7

Me: Aheh... Hi peoples! ; Uh, sorry I've been taking so long with these updates. I've been getting a bit of writer's block lately for some reason. And I had a sudden urge to play The Wind Waker. So I did. But then I stopped because my sister wanted to start her own game! Yay! I finally got her hooked onto Zelda!  
  
Din: Don't change the subject.  
  
Me: Ne, I think I'll just let them read the next chapter.  
  
Nayru: Not without letting me say something in the memo!  
  
Farore: Don't forget me!  
  
Me: There's your cameo. Are you happy?  
  
Nayru and Farore: oo  
  
Me: One more thing before the disclaimer. Thanks to Bvv, SuperSmashGal, and Aliasfan for your reviews. Thanks to Kearra for your two reviews. And thanks to Silver for all six of your reviews... which have mysteriously disappeared? Feh, I got 'em anyway. Thanks, all!  
  
Darunia: Disclaimer: She does not own anything Zelda-fied.  
  
Tingle: The only charas she owns are Selphie, Dimitra, Mace, Curt, and Sakon, not to mention Astus and Wicca who will probably never appear again and are thus not going to appear in the disclaimer any longer.  
  
Me: Read on!  
  
'  
  
Chapter 6:  
  
"Rise and shine, mates! We're burnin' daylight!" Senza's voice rang loud and clear in the morning shortly after sunrise. Most of those on the ship grumbled minimally and climbed out of their beds or sleeping bags, though Medli and Komali took a little more work.  
  
"It's barely light out..." Komali mumbled into his pillow. His new bed was a futon on the floor in Link's room. Link stepped on him as he started for the door. "Hey!" Komali exclaimed.  
  
"Get used to it. You don't get to sleep in here," Link smirked, nudging him in the ribs with his foot. Komali groaned, trying to ignore him. "Besides, the early bird catches the worm."  
  
"That's a gross stereotype," Komali said, sitting up slowly and realizing that he was indeed hungry.  
  
"I'm referring to breakfast," Link grinned. "The pirates are going to eat everything before you can put one arm through the sleeve if you don't hurry up," Link said, leaning on the doorframe.  
  
"Wha-?!" Komali blurted out, leaping to his and scrambling into his clothes. Link laughed at him as Komali rushed over to the door, looking down at the room below. "The food's not even ready yet!"  
  
"It's not allowed to cook?" Niko asked from the stove.  
  
"Heh. It got you out of bed though, didn't it?" Link snickered.  
  
"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" Komali mumbled.  
  
"Good morning!" Medli called from across the room, her and Tetra entering the below deck area.  
  
"If that's any indication," Link said, nudging Komali in the side. The Rito smiled slightly, rolling his eyes before gliding down to meet Medli. Link climbed down as well.  
  
"Hoy, Link!" Navi said to him, flying over.  
  
"What's up, Navi?" he replied.  
  
"We're wasting time," Navi replied. "We need to find the next person and set sail."  
  
"Can't it wait until after breakfast?" Link asked, casting a longing glimpse at the food Niko was preparing.  
  
"Ne, you don't know how long it might take to sail to the person's island, especially considering it is outside of the Great Sea," she replied as Tetra joined them.  
  
"What's going on now?" she asked.  
  
"You need to come too," Navi said.  
  
"Come what?" Tetra asked, frowning..  
  
"Come look in the Tome of Lineage," Navi answered.  
  
"My need for food comes first," Tetra replied, walking past toward the table.  
  
"But we need to get going! If we don't then whoever cursed Lord Jabun could get to them first," Navi argued.  
  
"It won't take more than two minutes to get there if the Ballad of Gales will work, which I don't see why it wouldn't, considering it took us from the Gray Atoll all the way to the Tower of the Gods," Link responded.  
  
Navi sighed, drooping in defeat. Not long after, Niko set the big pot of oatmeal out on the table. Unfortunately for him, the other pirates were at the table and emptied the pot before he could even sit down. "Sigh..." he breathed before turning away from the table.  
  
He looked back over his shoulder to make sure no one was looking, and pulled out a small bowl of oatmeal from beneath the lid of the pot. "Heheheh..." he smirked to himself, feeling very clever to have found a way to keep some food for himself until Senza spotted it.  
  
"Oy, Niko! Are you holding out on us?" he asked, grabbing the bowl before Niko could dig in.  
  
"Not anymore, it seems," Niko muttered, going to the cupboard and grabbing another small loaf of bread. After breakfast Link, Tetra, Komali, Medli, and Navi retreated to the captain's cabin.  
  
"Any preferences on who we should look up first?" Link asked, opening the cover of the book.  
  
"Perhaps the races that are less likely to have remained pure blood," Navi said, floating over to look down at the table of contents.  
  
"How do you mean?" Tetra asked, looking down at the book over Link's shoulder.  
  
"The Kokiri, Sheikah, Gerudo, Hylians, and Ikanans were human, unlike the Gorons and Zoras," Navi said. "So, they were able to reproduce among themselves and other human races, creating mixed bloods of, for example, Hylian and Gerudo. For now I suggest we look mostly at the tribes of Hyrule. Because Ikana was in Termina, actually a separate realm altogether, the Ikanan heir is likely to be farther away."  
  
"We can also knock off the Hylian because Princess Zelda's sitting right behind me," Link said, indicating Tetra.  
  
"So currently our choices are Kokiri, Sheikah, and Gerudo," Komali said, counting them off on his feathers.  
  
"Actually we can also rule out the Kokiri as well," Navi said. "Because they became the Koroks, they clearly could make human offspring, if at all. Not to mention the fact that they remained youthful throughout their whole lives."  
  
"What do you mean by 'youthful?'" Medli asked curiously.  
  
"I mean that while their age may have been one hundred, they would have never looked any older than ten," Navi explained. "Remaining in child forms forever, they never reproduced while they were still humans." She paused for a moment and then looked around at each of them in turn. "...At least... I'm pretty sure they didn't...?"  
  
"Gah!" Tetra exclaimed, squeezing her eyes closed and waving her arms. "No! Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts!" The others shuddered and displayed similar responses.  
  
"Moving along... that leaves the Gerudo and Sheikah as our two candidates," Link said, turning the page to a chart of the greater ocean and scanning the map.  
  
"Well, why don't we just look at the map and see who's closest?" Medli suggested.  
  
"Not necessary," Komali said, pointing at a square on the map. "They're on the same island."  
  
"Well, that's handy," Tetra commented. She looked down at the space. "Whoa," she said.  
  
"What?" Navi asked.  
  
"The island is huge," Link elucidated. "It takes up nearly a whole space on the grid."  
  
Komali turned a few pages and found a map of that square. "Gigas Island," he read.  
  
"Fitting," Link remarked. "Well, I guess we should get going then." He pushed out from the desk.  
  
"Whoa! Watch it!" Tetra exclaimed, jumping away before she could get knocked over by the chair.  
  
"Oops," Link grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, 'bout that." He started for the door, the others close in tow.  
  
"Watch yourselves!" Gonzo shouted from above as a strong gust of wind hit the boat rocking it violently. Those below deck cried out as they were thrown off balance. They swayed as though about to fall, but all managed to keep their footing and not fall.  
  
"Well, that doesn't happen often," Tetra said. Link shook his head and started for the door again. "Ah!" Tetra suddenly exclaimed as she tripped. There was no warning. She simply tripped and fell forward, unable to catch herself, especially since Link was right in front of her.  
  
Link suddenly felt her fall on top of him from behind "Wha-? Oof!" he gasped as he hit the floor, air forced painfully from his lungs. "Ugh..." he groaned in ache, wheezing for breath.  
  
"Oh, gosh!" Tetra exclaimed, scrambling from on top of him and kneeling next to him. "I'msorryi'msorryi'msorryi'msorryi'msorry!" she rambled embarrassedly, turning a deep shade of red.  
  
Link winced as he pushed himself up. "S'okay," he rasped, still trying to breathe normally. "It was j-just an accident." He shuddered, holding his chest. "Don't worry about it. We gotta get going," he stood up and left the room, Medli and Komali following. Tetra stared after him for a moment, and sighed shaking her head, the blush slowly receding from her face.  
  
"For some reason, that seemed to embarrass you far more than necessary," came Navi voice as she floated by to go join Link. Tetra was realized that she was not alone. She frowned.  
  
"Well, it's not every day I trip over my own two feet, y'know!" she growled, even though Navi had disappeared. She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest and started for the deck herself. "Niko!" she shouted down the stairs.  
  
"Aye!" Niko responded, when he clambered up the stairs to receive her orders.  
  
"Watch Selphie again. We don't want her to go flying off the bed when Link plays that song," Tetra said, walking to the door.  
  
"Aye-aye," Niko said, going into her room. He heard Tetra tell Mako to take over Niko's chores for now, and Mako grumbling as he walked inside and made his way below decks to struggle through Niko's chores. Niko smirked slightly, enjoying not having to do the dirty work; having an important job. But then he immediately felt guilty. He shouldn't be happy about his friend losing her soul for any reason.  
  
"Everyone hold onto something!" he heard Link shout. Niko took no heed of it, standing next to the bed and looking down at Selphie. He figured he'd be fine below decks. It was a reasonable thought, given he hadn't felt a thing the day before.  
  
"Wah!" Niko exclaimed as he was suddenly thrown into the side of the bed, hitting his head on the headboard. Perhaps it'd had something to do with the fact that he was swinging from a lantern going to clean the windows. He rubbed his head where it had collided with the bed and felt a small knot forming. "Ow... that's not entirely pleasant. He walked over to the window and looked outside, his eyes widening. Was that an island or had they finally hit a continent, he wondered.  
  
Tetra stared at the island in wonder. Of course she knew it would be big from its picture on the map in the book. But there's a big difference between a little picture and life-size. She'd never seen a landmass so large. "That's gotta be the biggest island I've every seen," she murmured. Everyone nodded slowly in agreement.  
  
They were currently on the southern extent of the island and watching the docks of a busy town built up around a bay that reached into the island. There was a river on the north end of the bay with a mammoth waterwheel, and all of the buildings were huge. "I can't believe such a place is possible," Medli said, gaping at the town. "There's nothing like it anywhere in the Great Sea."  
  
"And I thought Windfall was big..." Komali agreed. To the west of the bay harbor was beach, a very large beach that could almost be considered a miniature desert. On the very western extent of this beach was a solitary structure, though they could barely see it for the distance that side of the island was from them. A river drained into the northern end of the bay, and the rest of the island was concealed by forest. They could, however, vaguely make out a small parting in the trees, presumably a path to the inner section of the island.  
  
"Wow... not even Clock Town had anything on this place..." Navi said to herself. Those that heard her turned to look at her curiously. "Don't ask..."  
  
Finally Link remembered what they were there for and spoke up, "Well, now that we're here, we need to find our missing heirs."  
  
"We need to look in the book again, then," Navi said, starting back toward the door. Link, Tetra, Komali, and Medli followed and headed back to the captain's cabin. The Tome of Lineage was still lying open on the desk, the map of Gigas Island laid out in front of them.  
  
"Niko, out," Tetra instructed, not even looking at him. When she heard him leave, she looked down at the book. "It looks like they are in two different parts of the island: each in a different town."  
  
Looking at the map they could see what the rest of the island was like. The town they had just been watching was called the Port of Sun and the harbor the Quay of Sun. The island seemed to slope upward from the outside creating, not really a mountain, but a small equivalent. Forest covered most of the island from the north of the town to the other side, though there was one more town near the center of the island called Kent Village. There was a spring at the end of the river and a single dwelling right next to it. Other than that there was a smaller island on the northwest end but no visible habitants on it.  
  
The map had two dots on it: one on the Port of Sun and the other at Kent Village. "Which one's which?" Komali asked, pointing at the dots. They all looked at the map and shook their heads unknowingly.  
  
"There's no way to tell," Navi said. "Look in the table of contents. We need to see the lists of each race." Link obeyed and then turned to the Gerudo page.  
  
"It looks like our heir's name is Rosari," he said, reading the last name on the list. He scanned over the rest of the list for the heck of it and froze, eyes locked on one name in particular.  
  
"Link?" Tetra said, noticing his stare. "What's up?"  
  
"Look who else was a Gerudo leader," he said flatly, pointing at the name he was staring at: Ganondorf Dragmire. Tetra's eyes widened in shock.  
  
"He was King of the Gerudo?" she said incredulously, looking at Navi.  
  
"Yes, he was," Navi answered. "An odd thing about the Gerudo tribe. They were a race of all women. Only one male was born every hundred years and he was destined to be their king. However, I think that has likely ceased by now, since the bloodlines have all become intermingled."  
  
Link paused in thought for a moment. "...But that still means this Rosari girl must be his descendant..." Navi bobbed a yes. Link looked uncertain for a moment.  
  
"...Evil is not hereditary, Link," she said. "Just because Ganondorf turned out that way, does not mean every child of his children did."  
  
"I know," Link said. "It's just..."  
  
"Odd to think about?" Tetra guessed. Link nodded his head. "Yeah, I know..."  
  
"...We still need to know the Sheikah descendant," Medli reminded them as she took the pages in her own hand, returning to the table of contents and then to the page with the Sheikan bloodline.  
  
"That's different," Navi said, flying down to the end of the list. Squeezed onto the last line were two names.  
  
"What does that mean?" Link asked.  
  
"It means the previous Sheikan heir must have had twins, so now we have two," Navi answered.  
  
"So, what, do we need one of them? Both of them?" Tetra asked, raising her arms questioningly. "What?"  
  
"I really couldn't tell you," Navi replied. "But clearly we should try to stay on the safe side and get both of them." They nodded. "And so," Navi said, floating away from the book. "We dock in the harbor and find our two- er, three descendants: Rosari and-." She looked down at the book. "Daena and Daieno."  
  
"Okay, then," Link said, carefully pushing out the chair. "Let's go, Navi."  
  
"'Navi?'" Medli repeated. Link stopped to look at her.  
  
"Yeah, 'Navi,'" he answered. "I figured it was just going to be me and her."  
  
"Actually, that's the way I had expected as well," Tetra said, looking at Medli confusedly. Even Navi seemed a bit puzzled.  
  
"Well, yeah, Link could go by himself," Medli said. "But do you think any of those three will go with him?"  
  
"...How do you mean?" Link asked.  
  
"Well, think about it," Medli answered. "If a random thirteen year-old boy walked up to you and told you that you were the last heir to an extinct race of people, would you believe them?"  
  
"Yes," Komali and Tetra each answered, grinning slightly before Medli shot them each "shut up" looks and were was quieted. She looked back to Link.  
  
"Well, no," he admitted.  
  
"And with that in mind, would you go with a said boy on a pirate ship to 'save his friend who lost her soul?'" Medli continued.  
  
"...No," Link answered.  
  
"I see..." Tetra said. "Then what do you suggest?"  
  
"Someone clearly has to go with him," Komali said.  
  
"But who?" Link asked.  
  
"I'll do it," Komali offered.  
  
"Heh..." Tetra said. "'Yes, I'm a young girl and I'm going to go with two teenage boys because they both say I'm needed to leave with them.' Please, I don't think anyone is that stupid."  
  
"Are you saying it has something to do with us being boys that the girls wouldn't trust us and come with us?" Link asked, he and Komali each crossing their arms over their chests indignantly.  
  
"I'm saying they probably have some common sense," Tetra said. "Especially if they're young, they'll have to inform their parents first. Do you think they are going to want their children sailing off on a ship full of pirates because of a story two teenage boys told them?"  
  
"And it comes again to us being boys," Komali frowned.  
  
"Look, I'm not tryin' to say you're untrustworthy. I'm just tellin' ya that that's the way it'll happen. It's completely natural human instinct," Tetra said. Both boys growled.  
  
"So now you're saying it'll have to be a girl to come with me," Link said. They nodded. "So which of you will it be?"  
  
"I'll do it," Tetra said, shrugging her shoulders. "I need to get off this ship anyway."  
  
"Are you sure about that, Tetra?" Navi asked.  
  
"Yeah, why not?" Tetra said.  
  
"Well, if you and Link were to go down there together people would probably think you two were a couple or something," Navi explained.  
  
Both Link and Tetra flinched slightly at that. Tetra thought about it for a moment. "Well... that could have a plus side if we don't want them to think Link wants them for his own purposes like they would if he were alone or with Komali."  
  
Komali raised his eyebrow. "Are you saying you're willing to act like Link's girlfriend so that Rosari and the other two will trust you guys more?" he asked.  
  
Tetra squirmed very slightly. "Well... I wouldn't put it that way exactly, but... well, I guess..." she answered slowly, getting slightly quieter as she spoke. Link almost couldn't believe his ears. He looked over at Tetra almost unbelievingly and Navi looked over at him.  
  
"Are you okay with that?" she asked.  
  
Link jumped slightly, but a moment later shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it actually would be a good way to gain their trust," he reasoned.  
  
"Well, wait a second!" Komali exclaimed indignantly. "Why do you two get to act like a couple when me and Medli actually are a couple?" he asked.  
  
"Komali...?!" Medli said, looking at him slightly embarrassedly.  
  
"Oh, come on, Medli. We are!" he said.  
  
"Fine, we'll all go!" Link fairly shouted, throwing his arms up in exasperation... or maybe resignedly? Everyone stared at him, slightly surprised at the outburst. "But let's just go before half the day is gone," he said, leading the way out. "Niko, get back in there!" On deck, he said to the pirates, "Bring us into the harbor, guys!" Why does he seem upset all of a sudden, the other four wondered.  
  
A few minutes later they were setting anchor at the docks on the eastern side of the harbor. The group of four climbed out of the ship and looked around. "Well, where do we start?" Tetra asked. They shrugged their shoulders and headed into town.  
  
Back in the ship, Niko had returned to Tetra's room to watch Selphie. He went over to the window again and looked out at the Port of Sun. "Wow... it's even bigger up close," he said. He glanced back at Selphie's body. "Heh, if the town on Hogshead Isle made you nervous, you'd be downright scared of this place," he smiled.  
  
Niko grabbed the chair at Tetra's desk and pulled it over next to Selphie's bed. "Well, on the plus side, they'll find the people we need to save you soon enough," he said, sitting down and leaning back. He looked down at her and frowned slightly. Something seemed... different... Sitting up again, he studied her for a moment. He froze.  
  
Her facial expression had changed. She was flinching. Where her eyes had been closed before, now they were squeezed tightly shut. Her mouth used to be relaxed with a slight frown but now was drawn tautly, biting her lip so hard he thought she might gnaw right through. "What the heck...?" He looked down at the rest of her.  
  
She used to be relaxed, her arms rested lightly at her sides. He now saw her hands clenched, fingers tightly gripping the blanket so tight that her knuckles were perfectly white. Her toes were curled and her legs rigid and her feet turned inward, crossing over each other as though trying to cross her legs. Niko jumped as she moved slightly, tensing up even more, her head now tucked to her chest.  
  
He stood up and called out the door, "Guys!" He thought he might have heard Mako stop what he was doing. "Guys, come here!" He looked back at Selphie and heard Mako running up the stairs.  
  
"They're not here, Niko. They all left the second Miss Tetra and the others disappeared. Into town to have a good time. Why, is this job too hard for you?" Mako said sarcastically when he reached him. Niko shook his head fervently and pointed at Selphie, who was now shaking slightly. Mako's eyes widened. "What's going on?!" Niko shook his head unknowingly. Suddenly Selphie ceased her shaking. A few seconds passed, Niko and Mako holding their breath. Nothing happened, though Selphie was no less tensed up. They glanced at each other and Niko slowly stepped forward.  
  
"Selphie...?" he said nervously, reaching out his hand. Just before he touched her arm her eyes snapped open. Niko yelped slightly and jumped back. A few seconds later her eyes widened even farther into a look of pure terror. Her mouth opened and emitted the loudest, most horribly terrified scream. Niko and Mako's hands flew to their ears to protect against the horrible noise. Windows and picture frames began cracking and Mako threw his glasses from his face just as all manner of glass in the room shattered, shards of glass flying everywhere.  
  
The scream stopped for a moment and they looked at her again. She took a deep breath and let out another scream, tears clearly visible in her eyes.  
  
Suddenly, a book nearly hit Mako in the head. "What the-?" he was cut off as another one nearly hit him. They looked around the room and suddenly found all manner of objects flying around the room. "We gotta get outta here!" Mako shouted, grabbing Niko and pulling him back towards the door. Niko was about to oblige when he saw the Tome of Lineage still lying on Tetra's desk.  
  
"The book!" he exclaimed, pulling away from Mako and running across the room. He ducked under flying objects and dodged a globe flying at his head. Finally he grabbed the Tome of Lineage off the desk and turning around. "Ugh!" he cried out, as a jewelry box smacked him right in the forehead. He grabbed his head and kept running out of the room. He and Mako hid in the corner outside the door, covering their ears and Niko holding his hand to his bleeding forehead.  
  
They waited for what seemed like hours, but in actuality it lasted no more than two minutes before the screaming finally stopped. They opened their eyes and looked around. Niko set down the Tome of Lineage and stood up, wincing at the pain in his forehead. Mako also stood up, wobbly from his now lack of eyeglasses. "Urg... I hope there's someone in that town that can make me a new pair of glasses... What on earth just happened...?" he asked dizzily, his myopic vision distorting much of his eyesight.  
  
"I have no clue," Niko said walking toward the door. "Oh, sweet holy heck..." he said looking at the room. It was a disaster. Nearly everything was ruined and lying about the floor. Tetra's bed was in pieces, tossed around the four corners of the room and stuffing from Medli's futon decorated the floor. Books strewn about the room, pages ripped from their spines. Niko looked at the corner where Tetra's desk was, his eyes widening when he saw that one of the swords that was on Tetra's wall had sliced it cleanly in half right where the Tome of Lineage had once been. The only part of the room that seemed untouched was the corner where Selphie lay on her bed, still tensed up with tears falling out of her eyes.  
  
"Oy... this is very bad..." Mako said, looking around. Niko shook his head and walked over to Selphie. He could see her biting back cries of pain and couldn't help but wonder what could be happening to her that would cause this. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed something else: there was a dark spot in between her legs. Mako made his way over and followed Niko's gaze. His eyes widened slightly.  
  
Suddenly Selphie let out a small, but loud, shout, causing them each to take an involuntary step back. "Should we try to clean it up?" Mako asked.  
  
"No," Niko said, shaking his head. "I don't think we can trust it not to happen again. Whatever it is isn't quite done..." Mako nodded his head and they both turned around and left the room, heading up to the deck where they sat and waited for everyone to return, occasionally hearing more crashing noises coming from Tetra's bedroom.  
  
"What do you think was happening in there?" Niko asked. Mako remained silent. Niko turned his head and looked at him curiously. "Mako?" Mako looked at Niko and then away.  
  
"I dunno..." he said. Niko raised his eyebrow but winced slightly, holding his hand to his forehead again. "We might wanna do something for that," Mako said, standing. Niko stood as well, looking at him curiously. "What?"  
  
"You know something, don't you?" Niko said.  
  
"No more than you probably," Mako replied. "Whatever it was though, must have to do with something that's happening to her soul in that place... I don't like it... I don't see how she could become so shaken up if she were alone down there..."  
  
Niko nodded his head slowly and then frowned. "Are you saying you think her soul isn't alone wherever it is?" he asked.  
  
"I'm saying I wouldn't freak out like that if I was alone. Something else had to have happened to have incited that kind of reaction," Mako said, crossing his arms over his chest thoughtfully, also frowning.  
  
"Any ideas what that might be...?" Niko asked.  
  
Mako shook his head. "I might... I hope not... but I really don't want to think about it..." Niko looked at Mako curiously before heading below decks to get his head bandaged.  
  
'  
  
Me: Is everyone shocked and appalled now? Did everyone figure out what just happened there? If not, you'll find out next chapter probably. Kearra, you are NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE IT AWAY! But, yeah, everyone should be able to tell that something bad happened to her. And I mean really freaking bad.  
  
On a less distressing topic, I wanna say that this chapter would have gone a hell of a lot faster if I hadn't had to stop for three hours last night trying to map out Gigas Island! I could not do anything unless I knew exactly what it looked like, and so I took a sketchbook and pencil and drew the island, putting everything where it would go and giving everything names. Thanks, Kearra, for the help, but it didn't go very far, no offense.  
  
I was going to name everything for the seasons, but I couldn't find any derivatives or languages that I liked so I had to give up on that one. In the end, I decided to go with compass directions. I got that idea from an rp I did. I actually gave the giant of the south (from Majora's Mask) a name: Sunth. That's what South is derived from and digging back even farther you get Sun. And Kent is the same thing for center, since that village is in the center of the island. There's going to be more interesting stuff about this place later, but for now I'm not going to spoil it.  
  
And so, I leave you. I hope to get the next chapter up sooner, but I wouldn't get my hopes up too high. Until then, R&R! Buh-byes! 


	9. Chapter 8

Me: Hi, guys. It took a while, but I finally got up the next chap. This one took forever to write because I couldn't decide exactly what I wanted to happen when they got to the Port of Sun. I finally decided on what happened in here and then it was a cinch- not to mention incredibly fun!   
  
I intro one fairly important character in the first half of this chapter. When I had the idea for him, he wasn't originally as important as he's turning out to be. But then I realized I needed someone to fill a particular position, and this guy just seemed to fit. Shout out to my fifth grade teacher, from whom the man got his name. I will miss you and Mrs. Haan very much now that Nicole is out of elementary school. You'll both hold a place very dear in my heart as two women that helped to shape who I am today- if only in some small way.  
  
Din: You're getting sappy.  
  
Nayru: There's enough time for sadness/angst in the second half of the chapter.  
  
Farore: Yes, do not forget to warn them about that.  
  
Me: Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. The second half of this chapter takes an even darker turn than the end of the last chapter. Anyone opposed to or uncomfortable with such emotionally difficult topics should skip the second half of this chapter. You got enough information to infer what happened in the last chapter, and if you do not wish to go any further, I understand and do not blame you. Just do not complain to me saying that I didn't warn you because here it is right now.  
  
Darunia: Time for the disclaimer?  
  
Me: No, I gotta thank my reviewers. There were five of you for this chapter. Kearra, I'm sorry for singling you out. You know I love you (like a sister :P). SuperSmashGal, it's technically Lady, seeing as I'm a girl. :P Snowsilver, I'm glad to have a new reviewer and I hope you've come back for this chapter as well. Bvv... yeah, yeah I did... Aliasfan thanks for all six of your reviews! I'm glad you're all caught up now! Hope you got the review I dropped you earlier. (Fantasia! I was right!)   
  
Darunia: Now?  
  
Me: Now.  
  
Darunia: She does not own anything Zelda-fied.  
  
Tingle: The only characters she does own are Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Mace, Curt, and many of the characters that will appear in the following chapter.  
  
All: Read on.  
  
'  
  
Chapter 7:  
  
Link, Tetra, Medli, and Komali walked down the pier, weaving in and out of sailors and other men working on the docks, toward Port of Sun. The town seemed to grow larger with every step they took toward it. "It's going to take forever for us to find them in that place," Komali said.  
  
"Like human needles in a brick and tile haystack," Medli added.  
  
They made it to the end of the pier and found their selves staring down a wide street. On their right side was another open street perpendicular to the one they were on. Many of the buildings had small alleyways dividing them and there were several bridges overhead, linking buildings on either side. Colorful banners were also strung up between buildings and they could vaguely hear music coming from the end of the street. They could also see that there were people- lots of people crowding the streets.  
  
"I think you're right, Komali," Link said. "It will take forever for us to find them here."  
  
"Unless you split up," Navi suggested. They looked at her curiously. "Think about it: if you split up you can cover twice as much ground."  
  
"So it'll take half of forever instead of forever," Komali smirked.  
  
"It's still sounds like a good idea," Tetra said.  
  
"Right then," Medli agreed. "Me and Komali will go this way," she pointed straight down the street they were on. "And you two go that way," she pointed down the street to the right.  
  
"Sounds like a plan..." Link said, casting a quick, slightly uneasy glance at Tetra.  
  
"Let's divide and conquer!" Komali declared. "You two go this way," he pointed down the street to the right. "We'll go that way," he pointed down the street they were on. Before anyone could protest, he started to pull Medli down the street.  
  
"How's bout da four of you's goes back ta dat ship instead," someone caught him by the back of the shirt. Komali let out a startled yelp as he was yanked back. All four turned around to face a burly man with a brown beard and beady deep-set eyes. He wore nothing but brown leather pants and an open vest, revealing a hairy chest and arms and a rippling beer-belly.  
  
"And who are you to tell us so?" Tetra asked, pulling Komali from the man's grip.  
  
"Name's Jojo. I'm da shipyard manager, and you gots ta pay ta dock your ship at da pier," the man said, patting a moneybag on his hip.  
  
"Heh heh..." Tetra laughed, resting her hands on her hips as she took a step toward Jojo. The others stood back and watched her. "Shipyard manager, huh? Guess what. I have an occupation too, Jojo."  
  
"Is dat so?" Jojo asked sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest warningly.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm a pirate captain. So that over there would be my pirate ship," she said pointing to the ship and then crossing her arms across her chest as well. "And I'll let you in on a little secret."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
Tetra leaned in and cupped her hand to the side of her mouth, pretending to try not to let anyone else hear her, and Jojo leaned in as well. "Pirates don't pay fines. We dock where we want, when we want," she said in a fake whisper. She leaned away again and turned around, walking smugly back to her comrades. "Now if you'll excuse us, my peers and I have business to attend to in town."  
  
"Nice going, Tetra," Medli whispered when she had rejoined them.  
  
"You don't grow up on a dinghy like that without learning how to manhandle the big oafs," Tetra said as she continued walking, the others beginning to follow. "Later, Jojo," she called.  
  
Jojo whistled loudly behind them and shouted, "Boys!" The group stopped dead in their tracks and turned around to face him again. Jojo had a very smug look on his face as he leered at them. Men all over the docks were making their way over and enclosing them in a ring. "Later is now, cap'n."  
  
Tetra groaned. "Well, that wasn't supposed to happen... Do you think this is going to make us pay?" she asked Jojo.  
  
"Yah, I do," Jojo said.  
  
"Puh-lease," Tetra said. "Do you think we're scared of these guys?."  
  
"Uh-huh," Jojo said. "Two options 'ere. You's can pay up now and walk away unscathed. Or, you's can fight Mr. Piddles."  
  
"Mr. Piddles?" Tetra repeated skeptically, a smirk appearing on her face. "Come on, Link would martyr a pansy like that."  
  
Jojo shrugged. "Take 'im on den." The group tried to walk away again.  
  
Oof!" they exclaimed as they turned around and bumped right into a very large man.  
  
"Mmm," the man said in a very deep voice. They stared up at him with wide eyes. His head was bald and shiny and his eyes bulged out. He was easily twice as tall as any of them and more than two feet taller than the next tallest sailor. The only facial hair he had was a pointy goatee. He didn't wear anything covering his top half, which was sun burnt red and positively rippling with muscles. On his bottom he wore loose brown pants with a chain for a belt.  
  
"Please tell me you're Mr. Muscles," Link said nervously. "Tall man, Doctor Pain, something. Just please don't tell me you're Mr. Piddles."  
  
"Mmm," the large man answered.  
  
Link looked over at Tetra. "Thank you, Tetra," he said in a mixture of sarcasm and nervousness. Mr. Piddles made his way to the center of the ring and turned around to face Link.  
  
"Mmm," he said, gesturing stiffly for Link to join him.  
  
"Why do you suppose they call him Mr. Piddles?" Medli whispered to Komali. They looked over in his direction when they heard a sound of water hitting the ground. Each of them grimaced, seeing the puddle forming at Mr. Piddles' feet.  
  
"I have my theories..." Komali replied.  
  
"Come on, you can take that guy! You vanquished Ganondorf!" Tetra was meanwhile trying to convince Link.  
  
"I can't hurt this guy! He's just an innocent man!" Link argued.  
  
"Link, this guy is far from innocent," Komali said.  
  
"The point is I can't hurt him at the risk of looking like a murderer!" Link countered.  
  
"A murderer?" one of the sailors laughed.  
  
"He couldn't murder a spider!" another added. Several people in the streets heard them and turned to see what was going on.  
  
Link paid them no attention but continued to reason with Tetra, "If I were to pull the same stuff on these guys as I do on moblins and darknuts then no one would want to help us find Rosari or the twins."  
  
"Oh, and this guy clearly needs all the help he can get," another thug chimed in. More people heard them and were now crowding around to watch.  
  
Link ignored them, taking a deep breath. "Why don't we just pay the man and avoid a confrontation?" Medli asked.  
  
"I am not going to bend to vermin like them!" Tetra retorted, pointing at the brutes around them.  
  
"Tetra-!" Link pleaded.  
  
"She calls us vermin?" said Jojo. "Look 'oo's talking', da li'l sea rat!" Tetra froze, her features softening as she lowered her arm and looked away, forcing a scowl as she crossed her arms over her chest. Medli placed a hand on her shoulder. The taunt seemed to have hurt more than offended.  
  
"Let's just pay and leave," Komali said softly. Tetra nodded and was about to comply when Link spoke.  
  
"No." They looked over at him. He turned to them as well and they were surprised to see how angry he looked.  
  
"Link, you don't have to-," Tetra said.  
  
"No," he repeated. "Get out of the way, guys. I'm gonna take this clown on," he said. They looked slightly confused but complied, squeezing between several thugs and joining the crowd on the outside of the ring. Link turned around to face Mr. Piddles and stalked forward, fists clenched. He stopped about fifteen feet away and stared the giant down.  
  
"I guess da kid gots more guts dan we thought," Jojo said with a hint of mirth in his voice. "Be sure ta make him a nice coffin, Chrich," he smirked, looking to a man in the crowd nearby. The man jumped slightly, backing away nervously. Jojo chuckled at him and turned back to Mr. Piddles. His smirk vanished and he sneered, "Take him down, Mr. Piddles."  
  
"Mmm," Mr. Piddles replied, starting forward towards Link. Link stared him down as he slowly got closer.  
  
"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" some of the sailors in the ring started shouting until they were all shouting it for the whole town to hear. Tetra, Komali, and Medli looked around uneasily as more people joined the crowd of spectators.  
  
"Your friend is very crazy," one man whispered to them, tapping the side of his turban. He spoke in an accent we would recognize as Indian.  
  
"Crazy, nothin'," Komali said. "He's going to kick this guy's butt!"  
  
"Do not sound so certain. Mr. Piddles has taken down more than his fair share of 'heroes,'" the man said.  
  
When Mr. Piddles was about ten feet from Link, Link drew out his boomerang. Members of the gang started laughing at him. Komali and Medli glared around at them, but Link ignored them completely, continuing to stare at Jojo. "How is a boomerang going to do any damage?" the man with the turban asked.  
  
"Just watch and have a little faith," Komali said. When Mr. Piddles was about five feet from Link, he grinned down at him.  
  
"Mmm," he raised his arm and swung it toward Link.  
  
Link narrowed his eyes and jumped back out of the way. When he landed again, he threw the boomerang at Mr. Piddles' head. Mr. Piddles ducked under it and smirked as he reached his arms for Link's neck. A moment later, however, he froze as the boomerang made its full circle and clocked him on the back of the head, stunning him.  
  
The sailors jeered while his friends cheered and the townsfolk murmured to each other, seeming to warm up a bit to the young hero. Mr. Piddles soon regained the ability to fight and frowned down at Link. "Mmm." Link backed away, throwing the boomerang again, stunning him once more. This time, he took advantage of Mr. Piddles' paralyzed state to pull out the skull hammer. The townsfolk seemed impressed by this and even clapped and cheered a bit. Mr. Piddles shook his head to clear it.  
  
"What're ya doing, Mr. Piddles?!?" Jojo shouted at him. "Stop acting like a fool and take him down!!!"  
  
"I will give your friend this much," the man in the turban said to Komali. "He has guts. Anyone else would have been in the physicians office by now... and without a wallet anymore." Komali nodded, grinning.  
  
"Mmm!!!" Mr. Piddles said, charging Link angrily. Link stared him down and at the last minute sidestepped and swung the skull hammer horizontally. "Mmm?!" Mr. Piddles was hit with such force that he went flying toward the side of the ring.  
  
"AAAH!!!" some of his sailor buddies screamed. Three were caught in the line of fire and smashed between Mr. Piddles and the wall behind them. All of them fell to the ground unconscious. Mr. Piddles leaned his head forward dizzily, a stupid grin on his face.  
  
"Mmm... exquisite celestial orbs..." he grinned, referring to the pretty stars he was seeing. He then fell back unconscious. All of the other sailors looked at them in shock and then turned back to Link. All of the Port of Sun natives began clapping and cheering.  
  
"I cannot believe it," the man with the turban said, clapping his hands. "Your puny, little friend beat Mr. Piddles. It must be a miracle."  
  
"Believe it!" Medli said, cheering for Link, who was still standing near the middle of the ring. Tetra had a huge grin on her face as she applauded him. Link put the skull hammer away and turned to face Jojo.  
  
"Are you ready to leave us alone?" he asked icily.  
  
Jojo looked furious. His face was beet red, one eye bulging out of its socket. "GET HIM, BOYS!!!" he shouted angrily, clenching his fists. All of the sailors pulled out various weapons, both clean and crude. The townspeople gasped as the ring of thugs began to close in on Link.  
  
Link scowled and pulled out his sword. He crouched down, holding the sword out horizontally.  
  
"What is he doing?!" the man with the turban exclaimed. "Get up, boy! They're going to attack you!" The spectators all began to boo and hiss at the sailors.  
  
"Cowards!" "Fiends!" "Ass holes!" "There are children in the vicinity!"  
  
Link didn't pay any attention. He was concentrating hard on his sword. Slowly it began to glow, and then gold sparks seemed to shoot out of it. Unfazed by the strange behavior of the sword, the sailors continued to close in on him. Finally one of them reached Link and raised his crude wooden club. Link looked up at him suddenly and stood, suddenly spinning around in circles. "Haaaaaaaa!!!" he yelled as he spun around, his sword held out and hitting thugs everywhere. He continued spinning for about a minute, both turning and moving around in wide circles, eventually hitting every brute.  
  
Finally the hurricane spin wore off and Link stopped, wobbling dizzily. He looked around and grinned when he saw all of the thugs lying on the ground and the spectators cheering and applauding loudly. He shook his head and stalked over to where he saw Jojo lying. When he reached the man, Jojo was groaning on the ground. "Do not call her a sea rat... she is anything but," he said, low enough for only Jojo to hear him. The "harbor master" only moaned in response.  
  
"Link!" He turned around and saw Tetra, Komali, Medli, and another man coming toward him. The man wore a white turban, loose cream-colored pants, white short-sleeve shirt, and a red and green embroidered vest the latter two being tucked into a blue sash. His skin was kind of yellowish skin, dark turquoise eyes, and dark gray hair, beard, and mustache, which thoroughly covered his chin and cheeks.  
  
"You, young sir, are truly amazing," the man said. "You have done this town a great service! A great service indeed."  
  
"You're welcome," Link said a bit embarrassedly, rubbing the back of his neck and giving him a small smile. "Er... who are you again?"  
  
"Ah! Please forgive me. I have forgotten to introduce myself," the man said. "I am Joshi. I am the mayor of Port of Sun."  
  
"Oh, well, nice to meet you," Link said, extending his hand. Mayor Joshi grabbed it with both hands and shook fervently.  
  
"Yes! Nice to meet you," he smiled wide. "Those criminals have been terrorizing our city for a long time. A long time indeed." He looked down at Jojo who was still lying there, dazed and scowling. "How can we ever repay you for getting rid of those hooligans?" Link glanced at his friends and they all grinned the same thought on their minds.  
  
"Well, we're kind of looking for someone, and-," Link was cut off when they all heard a loud sound of glass shattering out in the harbor. "What the-?" Link wondered as they all turned to try to find the source of the noise. Jojo looked up and noticed their distraction. This was his last chance.  
  
"Grrr... Ragh!!" he shouted kicking Link across the shins and then leaping to his feet.  
  
"Gah!" Link exclaimed, falling to the ground. The others turned around and saw Jojo. "Urg..." Link groaned as he tried to push himself to his feet. "Augh-!" he cried out when Jojo's club met the back of his head. He fell down again, unconscious.  
  
"No one tells me what ta do!" he said. The townsfolk watching cried out indignantly.  
  
"You can't tell anyone what to do!" "Get lost, you coward!" "Go crawl up your ass!" "Children here!" They started to make their way in towards him threateningly, but Jojo countered by quickly bending over and grabbing Link, pulling out a dagger to hold to the boy's throat.  
  
"Anyone comes near me an' I'll slit 'is throat!" Jojo warned. The crowd gasped and backed away again. "Anyone comes near me, da boy'll meet his end. I'll skin 'im alive, I will. An' den I'll boil 'is intestines- cook 'em up like a bowl o' pasta; cut off each of 'is fingers an' deep-fry 'em like a bunch o' fish sticks; take 'is backbone an' grind it up, make a nice good bread outta it... course dat won't work, seein' as he ain't got a spine to grind up, eh? Eh?! Ahahahahah!" he started laughing.  
  
Tetra's eyes flashed angrily. "Rrr.... Don't you dare!" she shouted, leaping at his head. Jojo dropped the knife and Link as she hit his face with a roundhouse kick hard enough to send him back a few feet before he fell to the ground unconscious. "Link is the bravest person you'll ever meet! Don't you ever say he hasn't got a backbone, y'hear!?!" she hollered, pointing an accusing finger at Jojo. She stood there breathing deep and angrily for a few moments. Finally she turned around and walked calmly back to her friends.  
  
"That was quite a hit, young lady," Mayor Joshi said as they all looked down at Jojo.  
  
"You gotta do what you gotta do," Tetra replied.  
  
"I didn't know you could do that," Medli said.  
  
"Truth be told, neither did I," she answered. "I think it was hearing Jojo call Link a coward that must've given me the extra power, because there's no way I would have been able to do that an hour ago."  
  
"Who cares? He deserved it. Right, Link?" Komali said. When there was no response they remembered that he was unconscious. "Shoot!" he exclaimed seeing blood on Link's neck. They all rushed over and knelt down around him.  
  
"The knife must have cut him when Jojo dropped him," Medli said.  
  
"Ay, Joseph!" Mayor Joshi called. A man in the crowd hurried over. "This boy needs medical attention! Take him to your office and treat him immediately please!"  
  
"Yes, sir, Mayor Joshi," Joseph said, picking Link up and carrying him into town. Tetra, Medli, and Komali glanced at each other before following.  
  
Selphie sat in the corner like usual. It was on the opposite side of the room from where the other souls were. Definitely seemed the safer place to be. Currently Dimitra was sleeping. Mace and Curt were using her sash for their own personal pleasures- which consisted of using the spell to watch the outside world... the outside world being the inside of a woman's bathroom while she was bathing.  
  
"They seriously need to get laid..." she thought disgustedly. "Though I pity the poof girl who has to do it..." She smirked in spite of herself, "Or guy." She was hard put to keep from snickering until Sakon crouched down in front of her.  
  
"Having fun, darling?" he asked. Selphie quickly dropped the smirk from her face and frowned at him, squeezing past and moving to the opposite wall. "Oh... don't be like that, darling. I've told you before that I hate when you won't speak." She stood up again. "I do so miss the sound of your voice." Selphie walked away again, though she realized by now that he wasn't going to leave her alone. She wouldn't give him the pleasure of her voice or submission. Impending harassment or not, she was going to keep walking away.  
  
"Do you know what I really miss about your voice?" he asked, following her once more. "The way it sounded on our first few dates... the loud terrified sound in it." She glared at him and then gave him a rude hand gesture. He grabbed her by the wrist and held the hand up to his face. "All fingers lowered... only the middle remaining high... you know, I do believe this has some symbolic meaning... Screw you. Fuck off... Either of which I would love to do." Selphie wrenched her arm from his grip and walked away again.  
  
Sakon grinned forebodingly. "Yes, I do believe Mace and Curt are feeling the same longing," he said, turning his head to Mace and Curt, who were still watching the woman bathing, though not as intently. It almost seemed like they were waiting for something to happen. Selphie eyed them suspiciously but quickly turned her attention back to Sakon when he started speaking again. "I pity them, I do. Stuck in here with no one of the opposite sex for company... at least not of the same race." He grabbed her by the ponytail near the red hair tie and pulled.  
  
"I, however, am fortunate in that I do have human here with me..." Selphie bit back a cry of pain at the pulling of her hair. She yielded a bit to lessen the force of the pulling, her head bending forward a bit, giving her a view of the floor and everything in that line of vision. Her eyes widened when she saw it: the bulge in his pants just around the crotch. She jerked away quickly, the ponytail coming out and half of her hair falling loose. "You stay away from! Stay away from me, you bastard!" she shouted trying to make a run for it. He caught her by the other ponytail and she was brought to a halt, crying out as she struggled to pull away. "Let go of me! Please!" she begged.  
  
"But, darling," Sakon said saccharinely. "You seemed so bored. I thought you'd be grateful for something to do. Besides, it's time for you to play your part."  
  
"NO!!!" Selphie screamed as he dragged her over to his bed. Mace and Curt had pulled to chairs into its vicinity and were watching Sakon and Selphie.  
  
"Oh, this is gonna be good. I can tell," Mace grinned as Sakon tossed Selphie onto the bed. Curt smirked as well.  
  
"I only wish we could get some action... but hey, watching's good enough for me!" he said.  
  
"Watch what?" Dimitra appeared behind them. They turned around.  
  
"Oh! Dimitra! You woke up just in time!" Curt said. She punched him in the arm- hard. "Ow! Oy! What was that for?!" he demanded indignantly, rubbing his arm where she'd hit him.  
  
"Zat iz for waking me up, aliboron!" she said. "Now tell me what iz going on, right-!" She spotted Selphie and Sakon beyond Curt and Mace and her yellow eyes widened.  
  
"Dimitra! Impeccable timing as usual. Did you to want to see the show as well?" Sakon asked, turning away from Selphie. She tried to flee but Mace still had the sash and tossed her right back onto the bed. Sakon grabbed her wrist and held her in place, Selphie sobbing in protest and staring at the others pleadingly.  
  
"Let her go right now," Dimitra said dangerously, her eyes flashing.  
  
Sakon gave a slight laugh. "Excuse me?" he said amusedly.  
  
"You heard me," Dimitra said, narrowing her eyes as she shoved Curt out of the way and stepped closer to Sakon. "Let her go."  
  
Sakon chuckled again. "And why ever would I do that?" he asked.  
  
"Because what you are doing iz sick," Dimitra sneered. "Why zee hell would you do this- and now of all times?"  
  
"Because I feel like it," Sakon answered, the smirk turning upside down. Dimitra stared him down. "Tactical reasons then, huh? Okay, I play your game," he said. "Right now I don't have to worry about those friends of hers- or anyone else for that matter- stopping me. Right now I don't have to worry about her telekinesis. Right now I don't have to worry about it not working."  
  
"Sakon! You will not have sex wiss a sirteen year old fille!" Dimitra shouted. Curt and Mace gaped at her. Selphie stared at Dimitra in wonder. Sakon eyes narrowed to nearly unperceivable slits. He let go of Selphie who was far too scared and confused to do anything.  
  
Sakon closed the gap between himself and Dimitra and towered over the little Deku woman. "Do you have something you want to say to me, Dimitra?" he growled threateningly. Dimitra stared back at him undaunted but remained silent. He kicked her small wooden body and followed it to where it flew several feet away, kneeling down, pressing her against the floor with his knee and grabbing a handful of her leafy hair.  
  
"You will answer me when I ask you a question," snarled through gritted teeth. "You may have the most magic power, and you may have had a powerful daddy, and you may even have done the most work thus far." She was about to retort but he pulled hard on the leaves and she was caught biting back a cry of pain as her neck bent back painfully.  
  
"But you will always be a sorry little insect, and I don't take orders from tiny little insects. I am in charge here, not you. I came up with the plan, I've got the most power. Mace and Curt seem to have accepted that fact quite well. Now you need to get it through your sorry little head," he said, shoving her face into the floor.  
  
"You would be nussing (nothing) wizout me," Dimitra spat. Suddenly she was several feet away, standing on Curt's empty chair. "You never would 'ave been able to cultivate zee magic wizout someone 'oo could already use it, i.e. moi-même."  
  
"That may be so," Sakon said. "But even if you do have the most magical power in this group, I have the next most. And while my chunk of the power may not be as big as yours, it's still integral to our escape- yours included," he sneered. "And if you piss me off any more than you already are right now then I'll hold back my piece and we just won't get out of here- and you won't get your revenge against your people."  
  
"I don't care," Dimitra said. "I won't watch zee same sing 'appen to someone else- nottamment such a juene fille."  
  
Sakon sighed in exasperation, tired of the bickering and seeming to become amused by the Deku woman's declaration. He chuckled again. "Are you telling me you're willing to give up your thousand year long dream just to protect some girl? The same girl you helped me to escape and go after the day we lost our bodies-?"  
  
"I did not help you go after her," Dimitra cut him off. "I 'ad no idea you were going to go after her zat day. 'Ad I known, I définitivement would not have aided in our escape."  
  
Sakon sighed, "The point is, dear, that you're willing to give up your dream of revenge to protect her?" Dimitra remained silent but her silence seemed to reply in the positive. Sakon rolled his eyes. "Fine then. You're willing to give up your revenge. But are you willing to give up your life?" he asked.  
  
"What iz zat supposed to mean?" she asked.  
  
"It means if you don't get out of the way I will just as soon practice that fire spell on you as I would Mace," Sakon said.  
  
"Incendie?!" Dimitra exclaimed in fear. "I am a Deku! We are made of wood! I would burn like a campfire!"  
  
"Precisely," Sakon replied. Dimitra looked uncertain but did not move still. "Come on, Dimitra! I don't want to kill you if I don't have to! It's going to happen to her whether I do it or not anyway."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?!" both Dimitra and Selphie both cried out at the same time.  
  
"That one friend of yours- oh, what was his name... the mousy one-," Sakon said.  
  
"Niko?!" Selphie exclaimed.  
  
"Niko! That's the one!" Sakon smirked. "Yes, him, that's the one that's been wanting to do it."  
  
"What?" Selphie asked, hurt and confused.  
  
"Do not listen to him, fille!" Dimitra said suddenly, catching on to what Sakon was trying to do.  
  
"Niko's had the hots for you for a long time," Sakon said, grinning evilly. "And he's had intercourse on the brain for a lot of it."  
  
"No..." Selphie said.  
  
"You better believe he'll do it too. He won't do it now since you're just a lifeless shell, but once you get back he's gonna want to do it," Sakon said, starting to make his way toward the bed again.  
  
"Cover your ears, fille!" Dimitra instructed.  
  
"You're lying...!" Selphie said.  
  
"It's always those quiet ones, yeah? Always making you think they're the good guys. Leading you into that false sense of security," Sakon said reaching the edge of the bed.  
  
"Stop it!" Selphie cried, covering her ears.  
  
"Block it out!" Dimitra charged.  
  
"But they're always just waiting for the right moment to betray your trust," Sakon said, crawling up on the bed and leaning right up to Selphie's face.  
  
"Fille!" Selphie shook her head, trying to block out all sound.  
  
"You're just too naïve, dear. You never saw it coming in anyone," Sakon said.  
  
"Not Niko-."  
  
"Be quiet!"  
  
"Not even me-."  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"Sakon!"  
  
"Nor your dear old friend, Flat..."  
  
"NO!!!" Selphie screamed tears streaming down her face as she tugged at her hair. She bent over, burying her face in her hands as her body shook with her sobs. Sakon grinned in satisfaction. Dimitra dropped her head, shaking it. Mace and Curt watched it all in stunned silence.  
  
"...Sakon..." Dimitra said finally. "Pleaze don't do it... not now at least... you've put zee girl through for now... if you must do it I won't help nor hinder you... but please, just don't do it now..."  
  
Sakon leaned away from Selphie, smirking at Dimitra. "Nothing doing, dear," he said. "This is going down right now." Selphie looked up fearfully and Sakon turned to leer her in the eye again. Then he took hold of her wrist and forced her into a lying down position on the bed.  
  
"Sakon..." Dimitra said one more time.  
  
"Dimitra," Sakon answered, not looking at her but simply raising one hand and conjuring a flame. Dimitra said no more.  
  
"No..." Selphie breathed terrified, shaking her head. "Please no..." Sakon didn't listen to her and proceeded to remove both of their pants. Mace and Curt continued to sit there and watch. Dimitra stood there for about ten more seconds before shaking her head and snatching the sash away from Mace.  
  
"Give me zat!" she commanded, taking it and walking quickly to the other side of the room. Selphie watched her go.  
  
"Please don't leave me!" she called. Dimitra shook her head and sat on her bed, trying to do some kind of work on their escape, or at least perform some kind of spell that would take her away from this. She winced, struggling even harder as she heard Selphie screaming, "No... no! Nooo!!!"  
  
"I am sorry, fille..."  
  
Selphie's horribly terrified scream resounded off the walls of the chamber, playing back her fear over... and over... and over...  
  
'  
  
Me: I warned you. If you were not shocked and appalled by the last chapter, I'm sure I have turned your stomach this time through. I know it seems like I'm doing this just to be cruel and sick and twisted (all of which I most certainly can be a lot of the time), but it all has to do with the plot. I hardly ever do anything that isn't absolutely necessary, especially if it involves harming a character.  
  
But yeah, you guys did guess right. Sakon did rape Selphie, and that's what the deal was with all the mayhem on the ship, not to mention the spot in between her legs. Vaginal tearing. He is a sick man- a very sick man. There will be more shocking facts about him later, none of which I will tell you right now. Though I will eye Tingle sympathetically. eyes Tingle sympathetically  
  
Tingle: O.O Huh?  
  
Me: shakes head slowly And the whole deal with Dimitra there, that will be explained the next time I take it to the CCC (place where they're stuck in case I haven't made that clear yet). This might be the next chapter or the chapter after or the chapter after. I don't know. But trust me, if you don't have a new respect for Dimitra now, you will when you find out the reasoning behind her actions this chapter. Oh! And also, I drew an awesome picture of the Deku lady! If I find a way, I'll share it with you all. Hell, I'll e-mail it to you if you want. Just leave it in the review, refer me to your profile, or e-mail me first.  
  
Oops... I don't want to seem like I'm trying to sweep aside the horrors I've unleashed with this chapter, but I would also like to discuss the first part of this chapter, which, as I've already told you, I had so much fun writing. I had no idea at first that I would have Link have to fight off a huge mob that was running the docks. I'll give more details on the "harbor manager" and his gang in the next chapter, but suffice to say it was all illegit.  
  
But Jojo and Mr. Piddles, well, Jojo I had planned from the moment I thought of the harbor manager. I fashioned him to look kind of like the dude in the Bazaar from OoT, but I changed a lot of stuff. And Mr. Piddles! Holy shit is all I can say. I was simply writing it out and I thought, "I need sack of muscle to back Jojo up. And he has to be stupid." When I was trying to think of a name for this brainless brute, I realized that I could throw in a good deal of extra humor if I made his name make him sound like a pansy. Originally it was gonna be Mr. Tinkles, but I realized that would be cruel to Tingle.  
  
Tingle: oo; Thank you for your concern...  
  
Me: Then I thought of someone asking why he would be named Mr. Whatever when he looks like such a meat locker. I thought, if there was someway he could demonstrate his name- preferably something embarrassing that most people would be bothered by but a stupid oaf would not- I thought of the gag with Komali and Medli and the piddling himself. Thus, Mr. Piddles was born. His last words of intelligence were also added humor, like last night's episode of Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy.  
  
Ed: Spending an extended period of time in female company can be mentally disorientating and physically confusing.  
  
Me: Just to have him say something intelligent as closure to the "Mmm" all the time just seemed to pull it together in my mind.  
  
Mayor Joshi... where to start... Lol. I never even planned to have someone talk to Komali, but I'd heard that said somewhere in the funny Indian accent and I just had to throw it in there. In fact, my fifth grade teacher for whom he was named had an Indian accent as well and she talked like that too. After that first comment about Link being crazy, I just couldn't stop playing with the guy and his funny accent and stuff, so I made him the mayor. This was a great thing as I now know exactly what they're going to do in the Port of Sun from here on out.  
  
The next chapter should actually begin to further the storyline again. I hope you guys enjoyed this one, even those of you who read the latter half. I really can't guarantee that the next one will come any quicker than this one because I've finally gathered all the crap I need to do my summer assignments, i.e. movies for A.P. World History and books for A.P. Language and Composition.  
  
Speaking of which, I must ask, has anyone out there read The Woman Warrior? Before the school year ended I heard from teachers, students who had already started the book, and students who had had to read it before say that it sucked and they hated reading it. I for one find it to be truly awesome and I'm so very loving it! Did I hear correctly or is this just one more thing that makes me an oddball teenager?  
  
One last thing to ask before you guys abandon me for the other updates you received in your mailbox. You all must take the quiz I made on before reviewing! It's What Race of Hyrule Do You Belong To? and I want all of you to please rate it and then tell me in your review what results you got. Please! The link (hehe) is in my profile. I'd put it here but I'm not certain that it would be allowed... o.o;  
  
Anyways, tata, guys! Read and review! 


	10. Chapter 9

Me: Hey, look at this it's a lot sooner than I expected!

Din: You're gonna be in a lot of trouble when school starts.

Me: I finished one of my summer reading assignments. And I finished Spartacus. And I'm almost done with Woman Warrior. And I am trying to watch Ben-Hur.

Nayru: Please, you can't even stay awake for five DVD chapters…

Me: --

Farore: In the words of Selphie, "I have another month."

Me: Exactly. And besides, everyone reading should be happy. They got their new chapter. And I PROMISE this chapter is not dark in anyway. In fact it has a lot of humor _and_ some really kawaii stuff. Oh! And also, a couple of you (cough)Aliasfan(cough) said you were having trouble with opening my quiz. I should have mentioned that Quizilla can act a little retarded sometimes and you just have to click the link (hehe) a few times and it'll end up letting you in. And I have nothing left to say in these author's notes, so I will let you guys read.

Darunia: clears throat and whispers Reviewers…

Me: Huh?

Darunia: Reviewers…!

Me: Speak up.

Darunia: REVIEWERS!

Me: Oh, yeah! Thanks to my reviewers. There were only three of you- guess I didn't leave enough time for you guys. But to those who have already reviewed thank you. Bvv, I'm glad you have a new respect for Dimitra. Yeah, Link and Tetra were supposed to be cute, and they will be cute this chappie too. Aliasfan, if you write your chapters like you wrote that review you won't have to worry about length, lol. J/k. Your stories are great, don't change anything. And I'm taking Environmental Science my senior year- really excited bout that cuz I'm on Envirothon and I think that'll make Environmental Science a lot easier. Kearra, yah, I know you write and rp that stuff. Hell, I rp it with you! And Selphie still pities you, lol. :P

Darunia: Okay, disclaimer now. Selphie does not own anything Zelda-fied.

Tingle: The only characters she does own are Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Mace, Curt, Mayor Joshi, Joseph, Jojo, and Mr. Piddles.

Me: Read on, guys!

****'

Chapter 8:

Night in the Port of Sun: the streets were quiet except for the occasional dog or two barking. Lights were put out except for a few solitary squares of light from the homes of insomniacs. Night air brought cool winds from the ocean and the smell of the saltwater was became strong

Link slowly, groggily, opened his eyes. He found he couldn't see much at first because wherever he was it was dark. He lifted his head a bit to look around and winced, hand instinctively reaching for his neck. His neck had a bandage on the side and he had no idea why there would be. There was a bandage on the back of his head too, as he found when he lay back down and felt a pain on the back of his head.

Link shook his head slowly sitting up again. He realized he was on a bed, though it wasn't his own. The same went for the slightly oversized nightclothes he was suddenly wearing. The boy looked around and realized there was a curtain around his bed. He crawled to the end and found a seam, pulling it back and looking around the room he was in, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. It was somewhat elongated, a row of beds on the side he was on and a door on the far end. All of the other beds were empty. There was a window to his right, and he climbed out of the bed to look outside.

It was an empty street, or rather a square. There was a fountain in its center and up against the buildings were what appeared to be booths for merchants. The merchants were not there now of course. It was clearly nighttime as Link figured from the darkness and the moon hanging overhead.

He jumped when he heard footsteps and turned around. Light shone underneath the door and Link heard the doorknob turn. He started to climb back into bed but the door opened and a man walked in. "I thought I heard something," he said. Link looked at the man confusedly. The man walked over to Link's side of the room and set the candle he was carrying down on the windowsill and looked out as well. "Peaceful, isn't it? It gets really quiet at night when everyone's done their business for the day and pack it in. But during the day it really comes alive. The music, the chatter. It's loud, but mixed together it's as beautiful and calming as the waves themselves."

Link continued to watch this man curiously. He didn't mean him any harm, that much he could tell. The man's presence still didn't explain where Link was or how he got there. Link jumped slightly when he realized the man's hand was about a foot away from his face. "My name is Joseph," he said. Link took his hand and shook it, but did not get the chance to introduce himself as Joseph cut him off, "Link, I know. Your friends told me."

Link nodded his head. "Er… where am I exactly?" he asked uncertainly, looking around as if looking for some obvious clue to make itself apparent.

Joseph gave a slight chuckle. "I guess it would have been more clear if I'd introduced myself as _Doctor_ Joseph. I'm the town's physician," he said. "You're in the clinic, Link. You've been out of it since Jojo knocked you on the back of the head with that club."

"What?" Link asked confusedly, not remembering what happened.

"Hmm… not surprising that you don't remember," Joseph mused, leaning against the window frame. "After you beat up his crew Jojo knocked you over and then clubbed you in the back of the head. That's when you blacked out."

Link furrowed his eyebrows, beginning to remember the fight. He got to the point where he was meeting the mayor… and there was a noise in the harbor… a knock across his shins… and then he got hit on the head! "So it was Jojo?" he asked.

"Yup," Joseph nodded his head. "Really strong blow, too. Everyone there was enraged."

"Okay… if that's how I got the bump on the head, then what's with this thing on my neck?" Link asked, placing his hand on the bandage on his neck.

"Ah! Thank you for reminding me," Joseph said, stepping toward Link. He reached his hand for Link's neck, "May I?" Link nodded and took his hand away. Joseph slowly pulled back the bandage and inspected the wound. "Well, it's stopped bleeding anyway," he said. "Might take a week or so to heal though." He pressed the bandage back onto the skin again and stepped back.

"Yeah, but how did it happen?" Link repeated. "I remember a lot of the guys having daggers and stuff, but I don't remember any of them hitting me."

"Yeah, you wouldn't," Joseph said, crossing his arms as he leaned on the window once more. "That came from Jojo too, after you were knocked out."

"Huh? When?" Link asked.

"Like I said," Joseph said. "We were all enraged that he'd snuck up on you like that and were gonna go in and get him. But he grabbed you up and held that knife to your throat daring anyone to come closer. We started to think all that hard work you did was gonna come to nothing. But, you must've gotten the cut when Tetra, I think it was, kicked him in the head because we didn't see him actually nick you before that."

"What about Tetra?" Link asked slightly incredulously.

"Oh, that creep called you a spineless coward and she just leapt at his head, and wham! Kicked him so hard he went unconscious too," Joseph said. Link sat there blankly for a moment and took that in.

"Tetra did _that_?" he said.

"Mm-hmm. Think it had something to do with him calling you a coward 'cause afterward she shouted that you were the bravest person you'd ever meet."

"She _said_ that?"

"Yup." Link thought about that for a moment a bit disbelievingly.

"Wait… where are they anyway?" he asked suddenly.

"They who? Your friends?" Joseph asked. Link nodded his head. "Well, the Rito are over in the Sureste Inn, right there across the square," he said, pointing at a building directly across the street. Link leaned forward and took a peek. "Mayor Joshi got them the best room in the hotel."

"And Tetra?"

"Well, the offer was extended to her as well, but she didn't want to," Joseph answered.

"Went back to the pirate ship, huh?" Link said.

"Nope."

"Well, then where is she?"

"See for yourself." Joseph pointed around the curtain on Link's bed. Link pulled it away and his eyes widened slightly at the sight he saw. Tetra was sitting in a chair next to his bed, her arms folded across her stomach and her head drooped back, leaning against the wall.

"What's she doing here?" Link asked, surprised.

"Like I said, Joshi offered her the hotel room, but she wanted to stay here and look after you," Joseph said. "I told her not to worry 'cause I'm a light sleeper and would wake up if something happened, but she still insisted."

"She… she did?"

"Mm-hmm. She hasn't left your side since you got knocked out," Joseph told him. "I gotta tell you, Link. You are one lucky guy to have a girlfriend like that."

"Huh-wha-?!" Link exclaimed looking back at Joseph. "Girl- She's not my girlfriend!" he said, waving his arms slightly.

Joseph raised one eyebrow at Link and shrugged. Link calmed down and looked away embarrassedly. "Well, then, she's one hell of a chum," Joseph said, standing and clapping one hand on Link's shoulder. Link looked up at him. "Well, I'm going back to bed, as should you. I don't know about you, but I've got house calls to make tomorrow." He gave Link's shoulder a slight shake before picking up the candle and walking toward the door. "Night, Link."

"Night…" Link answered as Joseph closed the door. He looked back at Tetra and shook his head climbing back into bed. He wasn't tired, but he tried to go back to sleep anyway. Not like there was anything else to do… He climbed under the sheet and lay down on the pillow. Wincing slightly, he realized that now that he knew about the wound on his neck, it would probably hurt a bit more. He rolled over onto his side, facing away from the wall so that his neck didn't come in contact with anything.

This was uncomfortable. He started to roll over again but his neck hurt, and his head too. This happened several times before he finally sat up frustrated. "At this rate I might as well sleep sitting up," he said to himself. Of course it didn't help that he wasn't even tired anymore, having slept the whole day. And his mind was swimming with thoughts.

He sat there for a while, allowing himself to just think, figuring he needed to sort it all out anyway. Memories of that day surfaced. Tetra, Medli, Komali, and the mayor greeting him after he'd "beaten" Jojo. Standing up to Mr. Piddles after Jojo had called Tetra a sea rat. Finding Rosari, Daena, and Daieno's names in the Tome of Lineage with Komali, Medli, Navi, and Tetra. All the way back to that morning when he and Komali saw Medli and Tetra coming down below decks for breakfast.

Link looked up, eyes narrowed slightly. There was some kind of repetition in those thoughts… something that appeared in every one of them… he went through them again looking for the constant and should have realized what it was when his mind kept lingering on it. He blinked his eyes, realizing what he was doing and refocused on what Joseph had told him.

He remembered being introduced to the mayor and being asked what they wanted in return for helping the town. They were about to answer when there was a sound of breaking glass out in the harbor. When he turned to look Link felt Jojo kick him across the shins and he fell. He tried to get up but he blacked out. He assumed that was when Jojo had hit him in the back of the head.

Then, from what Joseph told him, Jojo had grabbed him while he was unconscious and held a knife to his throat, ready to make an example of him. Jojo called him a coward, and Tetra snapped, kicking him across the head, causing Jojo to drop both Link and the knife, resulting in the cut on his neck. But why did Tetra snap like that? Was it just because Jojo had insulted him? Link knew he'd kind of done the same thing when Jojo called _her_ a sea rat, but… could that maybe mean… was it at all possible that she…?

Link hastily shook the thought from his head. No, either of them would have done the same thing if it were Komali, Medli, or any of their other friends. He lay back down again, hoping that sleep would come. There was nothing special about it… just friends…

But _still_.

Link found himself staring intently at the curtain- almost through it. He closed his eyes, but they opened again to stare at the curtain. "_Well… it definitely can't _hurt_ to open it… and it _is_ kind of making it a little warmer in here…_" he thought. He sat up again and took hold of the curtain. Just as he was about to pull it back when he heard a soft snort on the other side, causing him to jump slightly. He shook his head slightly and pulled back the curtain.

There. That was better. He could already feel it cooling off… a little bit. Well, it still didn't hurt anything. Link lied back down again and closed his eyes. Hmm… shift a little bit. Get more comfortable. He opened his eyes again and saw Tetra sleeping in that chair. "She _can't be very comfortable…_" he thought. He closed his eyes but then opened one to peek at her. She was snoring a little bit, but that was probably from the odd position she was sleeping in.

Link closed his eyes once more but couldn't bring himself to keep them closed. He sat up in bed and looked at Tetra again and then at the next bed over. "_Well, no one's using that bed, or any others for that matter. Tetra's certainly in need of one. If I'm really careful about it, I'm sure I could move her to the bed so she can sleep a little better. It's the least I can do really since she gave up that hotel room to watch after me._"

Link felt he had made a pretty good case for himself and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He took a few steps toward Tetra and then bent down slightly, wrapping one arm around her torso and slipping one underneath her knees. With some difficulty he stood and took slow heavy steps toward the bed.

Tetra's eyes opened and she realized someone was holding her. "Hey! Who do you think you are?!" she demanded hitting him in the back of the head.

"Owowowowowowowowow!" Link cried.

"Oh, my gosh!" Tetra exclaimed as he set her down on her feet and held the back of his head with both hands. "I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you!" she said stepping away from him.

"No, no, it's okay. It's my fault. Just a bad idea," Link said, falling back onto his bed. He hissed in pain, eyes shut tight against the throbbing in the back of his head.

Tetra stared at him until he seemed to have gotten back to normal. "What were you trying to do, anyway?" she asked.

Link looked back up at her. "You looked so uncomfortable sleeping in that chair, so I thought I'd move you to the bed," he said, pointing to the bed behind her.

Tetra glanced back at the bed and then smirked slightly at Link. "Oh, that's sweet, kid, but really, I've spent my share of nights sitting up," she said.

"Okay then," Link said, taking his hands from his head again. "You snoring a little and I wanted it to go away."

"Hey!" Tetra said indignantly. "I do not snore!" He raised an eyebrow at her and smirked slightly. "…It was the weird sleeping position, okay?"

"If you say so," he said. Tetra frowned slightly and sat down on the bed behind her. "I also did it to kind of say thanks," he added.

"Thanks? Thanks for what?" she asked, testing the firmness of the mattress.

"Thanks for sticking around to look after me," he said. She looked up at him and then glanced away. "Joseph told me about how you declined the hotel room so you could keep an eye on me, and how you wouldn't leave me while I was knocked out."

"Oh…?" Tetra replied, though it sounded slightly forced. She seemed also to almost be avoiding his gaze.

"Yeah," Link said. He stared at her for a moment. "…And how you kind of saved me back there with Jojo, saying that I wasn't a coward." Tetra still refused to look at him.

"Yeah, well. You _are_ holder of the Triforce of Courage, are you not?" she said. "Besides, with you knocked out _someone_ had to rescue the hostage… I would've done the same thing if it had been Medli, Komali… random citizen number twelve," she gave him a small smile before looking away again.

"Heh…" Link laughed slightly at the joke. He didn't know why, but he was kind of disappointed to hear that she would've done the same thing for anyone. "Either way, thanks for defending me like that."

"I should be saying the same to you," Tetra said, finally meeting his gaze. "I mean, we could all see how mad you were about him calling me…" She trailed off dropping her head slightly.

"…Tetra?" Link said. She looked back up at him. "Jojo… and whoever else said that to you… well, they're just idiots… And they're wrong, because you are anything but a sea rat."

Tetra gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Link." He returned the smile.

"Well, I know I've been sleeping all day, but you were probably already up late," Link said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tetra smirked, climbing under the sheets of her bed. "What time is it anyway?"

Link spotted a clock on the wall. "Just sound of twelve-thirty it looks like," he answered.

"Jiminy cricket…" she said. "Well, I don't care if you've been sleeping all day or not, you're not gonna be able to stay awake tomorrow if you don't sleep now," she added, lying down and pulling the sheets up to her chin.

"I know," he said. "It'll probably be easier without you snoring now," he smirked lying down as well.

"Ha ha," Tetra remarked sarcastically grinning as she closed her eyes. "Good night, hero."

"Night, princess." Link _did_ find it surprisingly easier to fall asleep now…

Link felt the bed moving beneath him later that night and woke up. He opened his eyes and saw Tetra sitting in the bed next to him. He sat up, rubbing his eyes a bit. "Tetra-? What're…?"

"Nightmare. Just scoot over," she answered simply. Link looked slightly confused but made the extra room anyway. "Night again," she said, lying on her side, facing away from Link. Link nodded his head and was about to lie down again. The side he had been laying on the whole time was facing Tetra now he realized.

Urg… this whole thing felt weird. The only women he'd ever shared a bed with were his sister and grandmother. It was like "butterflies-in-the-stomach" mixed with nausea, mixed with fear, mixed with comfort. He didn't know what to feel… well, at least he could take comfort in the fact that she didn't want to _do_ anything.

He looked up at the clock: three-thirty. He shook his head and looked back at Tetra who was already fast asleep again. Link couldn't stop staring at her for a few minutes. There was a stray clump of hair in her face, which, after a slight bit of inner controversy, he moved off of her face. Then he fought a strange urge he felt to let his hand stay on her face for a bit longer and laid down again.

Link pulled the blankets up to Tetra's shoulders. He then scooted closer to the wall, giving her more room, and rolled over to face said wall, even though that meant lying on his injury.

"Eh? What the hell happened here?!" Gonzo exclaimed. He, Senza, Nudge, and Zuko had just returned to the ship after sneaking out and spending the day in Port of Sun. The first thing they saw upon entering the ship was the mess that was Miss Tetra's bedroom. "What did you two do?!" he shouted, finding Niko and Mako working on cleaning up the disaster.

"Hey! Don't jump to any conclusions!" Niko said. "We didn't do anything. It was Selphie."

"Selphie?" Zuko repeated skeptically. "She suddenly woke up, got up, destroyed everything in the room, and then went right back to sleep?"

"Well, she didn't wake up exactly," Mako told a splintered coat rack. Niko glanced at him, took his head in his hand and turned it to face the others. "She just kind of started screaming and everything in the room started flying around."

"All the windows and picture frames and Mako's glasses broke because the scream was so loud," Niko said.

"Is that what the glass breaking noise out in the harbor was earlier?" asked Nudge.

"Most likely," Niko replied.

"And you swear you're telling the truth?" Gonzo said critically.

"Yes," Niko and Mako answered.

Gonzo looked around the room shaking his head slowly. "This is bad… cap'n and Link need to hear about this," he said.

"And just how are you going to explain not hearing the noise? There's no way you wouldn't have heard it if you had been on the ship," Mako pointed out.

"Aheh… that's actually not much of a problem any more…" Senza said.

Link squinted his eyes shut at the bright light. Finally, after much difficulty, he opened them and looked around the brightly lit room. "Finally you're awake!" Link looked to the right side of the bed. Komali was standing there smirking. "Bout time. Come on!"

"'Come on' what?" Link asked, sitting up. "What time is it?"

"Eh, about seven. Just in time for breakfast!" Komali said. "Now hurry up and get your clothes on! The guy that owns the Old Salt has a free breakfast waiting for us! The girls are already there." He threw Link's clothes at him. "Let's go, I'm hungry!"

"Yada yada yada," Link rolled his eyes smirking as he caught the clothes and began to change. "Hey, where's Joseph? I wanted to thank him for his help."

"House calls," Komali answered. "He was leaving just as I got here."

"And that was?"

"Bout an hour after sunrise," Komali said frowning. "Tetra came in there and woke me and Medli up shortly after dawn…"

"Heh," Link snickered. "Hope you and Medli didn't stay up too late."

"Hope you and Tetra didn't either," Komali countered.

"Like that would happen," Link rolled his eyes.

"I dunno," Komali said. "She's been acting kind of weird around you lately. Yesterday had to have been the weirdest though."

"Joseph told me how she snapped and knocked out Jojo," Link replied trying to get that thought out of Komali's mind. Before Komali could move on he added, "And how she refused the hotel room so she could stay and watch me."

"She didn't just turn down the hotel room," Komali said as he and Link started out of the clinic. "She wouldn't go looking for our missing royalty, chastise the pirates, whom we found having a jolly old time in town, or go back to the pirate ship. Navi was bugging the heck out of her to continue looking even though Link was asleep so that we wouldn't lose time.

"Oh… hey, where is Navi anyway?" Link asked looking around.

"Aheh…" Komali laughed somewhat embarrassedly. "She was really starting to bug us… so…" He pulled out a bottle from inside his shirt.

Link's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?!" he exclaimed, snatching the bottle and releasing Navi from within.

"How dare you! All I was trying to do was get you to save Selphie, but no! Everything revolves around Link! Can't do anything without the hero of the winds! I swear you're lucky you're so much bigger than me! I would have- hey!" Navi rambled until Link quickly caught her in the bottle again.

"I see what you mean…" he said. Komali laughed.

"But yeah, Tetra wouldn't leave you for nothing. Not even after hearing about her room being a pigsty."

"Her room being a what?" Link asked.

"It's a total sty!" Komali said. "Apparently something happened with Selphie and she started screaming and making stuff fly around the room."

"What happened?" Link inquired as they made their way through the square.

"We don't know," Komali shrugged. "Though I think Mako might have his suspicions cause he seemed kind of evasive when we were asking."

"Hmm… that's really weird… I think it means we need to hurry up and find everyone," Link said. Komali nodded his head in agreement and narrowed his eyes stopping suddenly. "What's up?"

"I got a feeling someone's behind us," he said. They both turned around slowly and found their selves looking down at a group of kids. "Can we help you?"

"Are you the one that beat up Mr. Piddles yesterday?" one little boy asked Link.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I guess I did," he answered glancing uncertainly at Komali.

"Awesome! That was so cool!" another boy said.

"How'd you do it?" one little girl asked.

"Yeah, Mr. Piddles is so scary! I wouldn't go near him!" another said.

Komali and Link laughed. "I've seen scarier stuff," Link replied.

"Wow!!" the kids were all wide-eyed.

"You were so great!" another little boy said stepping forward. He lifted his shoulders stiffly. "Mr. Piddles was all like 'Mmm!' And he was coming for you!" He walked slowly up to another boy.

"Yeah, but you just stood there cause you weren't afraid!" the second boy said. "You pulled out your boomerang and wham! Hit him in the head with it!" He pretended to throw a boomerang at the other boy, who pretended to go all stunned. The children all laughed at the dramatization as did Link and Komali.

"Then you pulled out that big hammer and when he ran at you, you just hit him with it!" said another boy pretending to hit a little girl who charged at him.

"He went flying into his friends and they all got knocked out!" the girl said, falling into a few of the children who all fell down giggling.

"And when all the other bad men started after you, you just pulled out your sword and did that cool spinning thing like this!" the first little boy said, holding his arm out as he began spinning in circles.

"Yeah!" all the other children shouted and began spinning as well. Link and Komali laughed at them.

"Ay! Niños!" Link and Komali turned to see a lady of about nineteen standing over the children, hands on her hips. The lady had golden-bronze skin, bright amber eyes, and fiery red hair that was pulled back near the top of her head. She wore a short-sleeve white blouse and calf-length brown skirt.

"Oh, dear gods, please don't make me kiss the ground again!" Link muttered to himself.

"What?" Komali questioned. Link just shook his head.

"Hi, Rosari!" some of the children greeted her.

"Rosari?!" Link and Komali exclaimed.

"Don't 'hi' me, you're all going to be late for school!" she said, though she wasn't mean about it, just concerned. "Get going or Mrs. Sherry will be muy enfadado."

"Ah!" they screamed slightly and turned on their heels to run in the direction of the street the clinic was on.

"_Cheep cheep!_" Most of the children stopped when they heard the noise. "_Cheep cheep!_" One little boy with skin like Rosari's but short jet black hair froze, looking a little scared. Rosari looked at him suspiciously.

"Luis…" she said somewhat warningly, holding out her palm. Luis looked away guiltily. "Luis."

"It's not me!" Luis said.

"_Cheep cheep!_" a small yellow bird poked its head out of his pocket. Luis grimaced and looked up at Rosari.

"Luis, you know you cannot bring Pyoko to school. Mrs. Sherry will take him away for sure," Rosari said as he put the baby cucco in her hand.

"But if I leave him at home he will miss me and keep calling for me," Luis said. "And Señora Elena said if he keeps peeping she will make him into sopa de pollo!"

"She said that?" Rosari said, looking in the direction of the opposite side of the harbor. "Ay… Abuela, you cannot joke about that…" she mumbled. Rosari turned back to Luis and crouched down to his level and held out her hand. "How about this, Luis. You will go to school and I'll keep Pyoko here with me so that Mrs. Sherry won't take him and Señora Elena won't turn him into sopa de pollo. And when we get home I will talk to her about turning your pets into food. Deal?"

"Sí!" Luis answered excitedly, placing the chick in her hand.

"Bueno. Now run along to school or you will all be late!" Rosari said standing up again.

"Okay! Bye, Rosari!" the children called as they ran down the street.

"Gracías, prima!" Luis called.

"Adiós!" She shook her head smiling and turned back to Link and Komali. "I'm sorry if they were bothering you," she said.

"Not at all," Link said. "I think they actually helped us a bit, Miss Rosari."

"Ah, please. No titles," she said waving her hand slightly. She looked at them a bit more closely. "Hey! You're the one that beat up all those thugs yesterday, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yeah," Link answered.

"Ah! I was just coming to get you two! Your girlfriends are waiting in the Old Salt café, as are your breakfasts," she said. Link was about to say that Tetra wasn't his girlfriend but Komali elbowed him in the arm. "Come on, I'll show you the way."

"Score!" Komali whispered to Link as they followed her down the street.

****'

Me: So, did you guys like? Definitely more light-spirited than the last few chapters. Just as I requested before with Komali and Medli, I ask that you guys leave an "Aw!" for Link and Tetra in your reviews. I just couldn't resist. Those two need to just admit how they feel about each other, dammit! Oh, wait… I'm the authoress. It's MY job to make sure they do that…

Tingle: Wasn't that already on your to-do list for this story though?

Me: (smacks Tingle upside the head- hard)

Tingle: T.T

Me: That's what you get. Keep your mouth shut! (remembers readers) ; Aheh… hi, guys. I wanted to make a few things clear about Rosari and Luis. In case you guys don't feel like translating the Spanish vocab in there- Spanish being the equivalent of the Gerudo tongue (for the purpose of myself and others)- prima/o means cousin. Abuela is grandmother. Rosari is Luis' older cousin. Luis is her father's brother's son. Abuela/Señora Elena is Rosari's mother's mother. Luis is an orphan and stays with Rosari and her grandmother but is not blood related to Señora Elena. You'll learn more about them next chapter, but I just wanted to explain that right now. And I can't wait until next chapter when I can get some _real_ practice with my Español.

Quite easily one of my favorite parts of this was the little kids. I just love little kids and when I had that idea I ran- no, sprinted with it. And Pyoko the baby cucco is based off of the same Pyoko from the Oracle of Seasons manga. And if no one could tell, the comment about having to kiss the ground again was because Rosari looks like Suna.

The part in the clinic between Link and Tetra- I was just dying to do a scene like that. The second part of that scene, when Tetra climbs into bed with him, was based off of two things: Case Closed episode Mountain Villa Murder (part one or two, not sure which) and an rp that me and Kearra did. Kearra, please don't hurt me for using that line… . 

Anyway, I'll let you all go. I'll either have another chap up soon or actually get some work done. R & R!

WTF? oO? It won't let me upload the chapter document! Plan B... change a previous document and use that instead... clever, no...?


	11. Chapter 10

Me: Hullo! I'm not gonna take up a lot of your time. Thank you to the reviewers. Kearra, yah, Rosari's supposed to be fairly pretty. That's why the Mayor has a crush on her! :P J/K. Bvv, well of course everyone thinks Link and Tetra are a couple! That power of suggestion will have to break em in eventually! Lol. And last, but not least, Aliasfan. Hylian, eh? You're like Link and Tetra! I've been getting Deku lately.

But, yah, this chapter has a lot of light-hearted stuff again, though there is one bad thing that happens- not like way out there bad! We're still not going back to the CCC yet, but yah. Tis'n't good. Makes their lives more complicated at the least. And have fun with all the Spanish. I hope you all have dictionaries at hand, though you don't necessarily _have_ to know what's being said. I had a lot of fun with it. And I _think_ I got all my conjugations right. Señora Daugherty would be so proud!

Darunia: Disclaimer: Selphie doesn't own anything Zelda-fied.

Tingle: The only characters she does own are Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Mace, Curt, Rosari, Luis, Señora Elena, and Mayor Joshi. You'll not be seeing the little kids again, but she owns them too.

Goddesses: Read on!

****'

Chapter 9:

"Holy crap, this is the best meal I've ever had!" Komali exclaimed. He and his comrades were hungrily downing pancakes, waffles, sausage, ham, bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy, fried potatoes, and cream of chipped beef.

"I hate to admit it, but even Grandma's cooking isn't as good as this," Link admitted, chugging down a glass of milk, which he'd never had before.

"Mmm," Medli said swallowing a bite of pancakes. "It's like heaven in my mouth."

"The gods have got to be jealous," Tetra added, shoveling in the fried potatoes.

"They are!" said two men wearing red and turquoise across the café who were also scoffing down the same type of meal.

"Gracías," Rosari said, taking away the empty plates as they finished eating. "But it's the least we can do for the people who saved our town from those mobsters. They were taking cuts on every business in Port of Sun."

"That sucks," Tetra said.

"Sí, but now you guys have put an end to their pillaging!" Rosari said. They glanced at Tetra and smirked, Tetra shrugging her shoulders. "I only wish there were a better way for us to repay you... I don't think one free breakfast can equal what you've given us."

Link shook his head, "We were just trying avoid paying a fine."

"Yah, if Jojo hadn't called his boys on us, Link never would have fought them like that," Medli added.

"Still if there's anything else I can do, don't hesitate to ask," Rosari said, taking the plates to the kitchen. She returned a minute or so later and leaned on the nearest table.

The group glanced around at each other. "Actually perhaps you'd be able to help us help our friend," Link said.

"How's that?" Rosari asked.

"Well, you see a friend of ours lost her soul..." Link said already realizing how absurd it sounded.

"Su espíritu?" Rosari asked. "Dios mío! Que terrible!"

"Wait, you believe us?" Medli asked disbelievingly.

"Claro. Mi abuela, she told me all about magic and our ancestors. She said that a long time ago, the people I descend from, the Gerudo, were great warriors. Their language is the one that you hear me speak sometimes. Abuela would not learn the new language so me and mi primo, Luis, had to learn the old tongue," Rosari explained. "Abuela, told me that most of my ancestors could not use magic, but they had a king who was a great sorcerer, un mago, she said," Rosari explained.

"Ganondorf?" Tetra asked nervously.

"Sí, you've heard of him?" Rosari asked somewhat surprised.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, we've heard of him," Tetra answered.

"Ay, that should not surprising. He was an evil man. Terrible things happened during his reign," Rosari said.

Tetra sighed relievedly. "Oh, good. You do know about him."

"Yes, I know about him... I'm sorry to say I'm a direct descendant of his as well..." Rosari said. "But on the other hand, I also have the blood of the sage, Nabooru, running through me."

"So you know a lot about the ancient world?" Link asked.

"Yup," Rosari said. "Abuela is obsessed with it. She wants to make sure I carry it on and don't let it die... But enough about me and my insane grandmother. How can I help your friend? I assume you want to get her soul back, and I'm sure that's probably a difficult thing to do."

"Yeah, it is," Link said. "We can't even do it alone."

"Well, I assumed that was why you were asking my help," Rosari teased.

"Er... yeah," Link smiled sheepishly. "Actually our need for your help revolves a lot around your Gerudo ancestry."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, more around your ties to Ganondorf than anything else," Tetra added. "I don't know if you know this but you're actually the heir to the Gerudo throne."

"Ah, sí. Yo se, I know that. But they're an extinct people, so there's nothing much to that," Rosari said.

"There may not be anything you can do for your people, but you do still have royal obligations," Komali said. "Like me and Tetra."

"Qué?" Rosari asked, confused. "I don't understand."

"Well, just as you are descendant to the Gerudo throne, I am descendant to the Hylian and Komali to the Zora," Tetra explained.

"So, what are you collecting all of the last in the royal bloodlines of ancient Hyrule or something?" Rosari posed somewhat skeptically.

"Yeah, actually," Link answered.

"Por qué? Why?"

"Because we need all seven (er... eight) of you to open the way to the ancient world," Link replied.

Rosari stared at him blankly for a moment. "Wait, wait, wait," she said waving her hands slightly. "Esperen... You're saying you're going to the ancient world of Hyrule?"

"Well... technically it's Ikana, but yes," Link said. "That's where Selphie's soul is being imprisoned."

"Selphie being your friend?"

"Yeah." Rosari stood there for a moment, palms pressed against her forehead.

"Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay..." she muttered to herself. "What exactly do I have to do?" she asked.

"Well, we need you to come with us on my pirate ship for a little while," Tetra said. "And once we have the others you can open up the way to Ikana and Link can go in there and get Selphie's soul back."

"And then you would bring me right back here to Gigas Isle?" Rosari asked seriously. She sat there for another moment or so and then looked at them in the eye. "I want to help you, and I probably will. But before anything, I must speak to my grandmother." She smiled at them. "And if I do this I'm debt free, verdad?"

"Sí!" they answered.

"All right," Rosari said. "I will talk to my grandmother, but it must wait until later. I come to town in the morning with Luis and I leave in the morning to take him home. We live all the way on the other side of the island, so there's no way he's allowed to walk on his own. Not to mention I have work." Her eyes widened and she stood up. "Which I need to get back to. If you guys go ahead to my house now I will meet you there when I come home. Bueno?"

"Er... yes?" Medli answered.

"Good. It's all the way west on the beach. The only house out there, so you can't miss it," Rosari said. "I'll see you then." She walked across the café to the kitchen and disappeared inside.

"Well, I guess we're going to Rosari's house," Link said as he stood up from the table. The others nodded and stood as well. Then they walked out of the café.

"Ah! Our heroes! There you are!" they were greeted by the voice of Mayor Joshi. He appeared out of the crowd and wrapped Link in a bear hug. "I am glad to see you are okay!" he said.

"Um, yeah. All better now," Link said uneasily.

"Good to hear! Good to hear!" Mayor Joshi said, releasing him. "Did you enjoy your breakfast? Rosari is a good cook, is she not?"

"Yes, she is," they grinned.

"Of course, of course! Now, we have yet to discuss repayment for your service to the town," Mayor Joshi said.

"Oh, there's no need for that really," Link said. "You guys have already lost so much from those thugs, I don't wanna take anymore."

"Unacceptable," Mayor Joshi responded. "Please, allow us to do something for you, no matter how small."

"Well..." Link said, really not knowing what.

"I have an idea," Komali said. "If you want to repay us, deliver seven futons to our ship in the harbor."

"What?" Link asked questioningly, looking at Komali confusedly.

"Good idea. Seven futons, please," Medli said.

"Seven futons it is then," Mayor Joshi said. "I will get on that immediately. And if there is ever anything else that you need, do not hesitate to ask. We would be honored to oblige." He grabbed each of their hands between his in turn. "Good luck, may the winds of fortune blow with you." He turned around and hurried across the square.

"Now we head to Rosari's house... and you guys can explain why we need seven futons," Link said.

They walked down the long street, passing a bazaar, a bomb shop, and a post office where they ran into someone from Komali and Medli's aerie. They made their way past the "shipyard office," a jail, and an empty building. Along the way Komali and Medli explained the condition of Tetra's room and the situation with Selphie. Then they reminded Link that the people they were gathering would need a place to sleep while on the ship, thus the need for the seven futons.

They'd pretty much run out of things to talk about by the time they reached the edge of town on the western side of the harbor. So, they proceeded across the long stretch of beach in silence. Medli and Komali went ahead a bit so they could be alone. Why they wanted to be alone is anyone's guess, but they soon started to hold hands and Medli rested her head on Komali's shoulder and Komali put his arm around her.

Link and Tetra were left a short distance behind them and watching. Tetra smirked and cast a sideways glance in Link's direction. "Oh! Link! I want you to hold my hand too!" she said somewhat loudly, grabbing his hand and swinging it in all directions.

She expected Link to smirk. "And you're gonna keep wanting," he'd probably joke and pull his hand away pretending as though she was an embarrassment or something. Tetra did not expect him to say nothing, to allow her to hold his hand, to blush slightly and grope for the back of his neck with his free hand. Thus she did not expect it when a few minutes later he shifted his hand slightly so that they could interlock their fingers. They continued to walk on in silence, neither complaining, and neither pulling away their hand.

Medli glanced inconspicuously back at her human companions and then whispered to Komali, "You see? I told you it'd happen if we left them alone." About half an hour later they reached the house surrounded by the sand. Link finally let go of Tetra's hand and reached up to knock on the door.

"Hello? Er... Señora Elena?" he called. He knocked a little louder. "Señora Elena, we're friends of Rosari's! She sent us here!" There was still no answer.

"Aiyeee!" they heard a sound from the back of the house and their eyes widened. It sounded like she was in trouble.

"Come on!" Link exclaimed running around the house to the back. "Are you-?!" Link cut off and they all froze when they saw Señora Elena.

"Viena aquí, cochina!!!" shouted the wiry old lady with the gray hair in a bun at the back of her head almost hidden by the red bandana covering the top. She wore a large long-sleeved red blouse and billowing white skirt. All of which were spattered with mud.

"_OINK!! OINK!!_" squealed the pink and black spotted pig she was chasing around the large pen.

"Viena! Necesitamos más tocino!!" she cried as she swung her axe at him. "Y jamón!" The pig just ran faster. "Y salchicha!" The pig evaded her and she slipped in the mud. "Vuelva, maldita sea!" she screamed as she gave chase once more. The group of four stood there in stunned silence. ((a/n: sweat drop anime style, lol)) Suddenly the pig changed course and ran right in their direction.

"Aaii!" Medli shrieked as it leapt into her arms.

"Aiyeee!!" Señora Elena shouted as she ran at them with the axe over her head.

"Whoa!!" Link shouted taking out and throwing the boomerang at the axe all in one fluid motion. The axe went flying out of the old woman's hand as she was bringing it down over her head. The pig was still squirming around in Medli's arms and she trying to keep it still. Link caught the boomerang. When Señora Elena turned around to go for the axe again, he exclaimed, "Whoa! Whoa, let's... let's just forget about the pig, okay? Just for now anyway."

"Dame mi cochina!" Señora Elena demanded. The group glanced amongst themselves nervously as the pig continued to try to hide with Medli.

"Ma'am, I don't know what you just said, but we need to talk," Link said.

"Dame mi cochina! Vete de aquí enmediatamente, ladrón!" she yelled. The pig squealed even louder.

"Quiet down. Don't worry..." Medli whispered to the pig.

"Are you talking to it?" Komali asked.

"Er.. if it'll get it to stop squirming around so much, then I'll try anything," Medli answered. Komali looked skeptical.

"Er... Señora?" Tetra tried. "We're not... ladrones?" she said unsure.

"No ladrones?" Señora Elena said somewhat suspiciously.

"No, no ladrones," Tetra repeated. "Rosari sent us. We met her- Rosari- and Luis in the Port of Sun."

"Mi nieta?" Señora Elena said. "Rosari está en el Puerto del Sol."

"Sí, that's where we met her- Rosari. Her and Luis," Tetra said.

"Ay, ay, ay... Maldece esta idioma nueva..." Señora Elena muttered to herself. "No comprendo," she said shaking her head. "Hace caliente en fuera. Entren, entren..." she said leading the way over a fence and through the backdoor of the house. The group did not understand and thus did not follow until she reappeared and beckoned them with her arm, "Vamonos."

The group shrugged their shoulders and followed. Medli tried to put the pig down, but as soon as it would touch the ground it would leap back up into her arms. "Medli, leave the pig outside," Komali said.

"I'm trying, but he won't leave me alone," Medli said, trying once more to put the pig on the ground outside the door.

"Trayelo," Señora Elena said.

"Huh?"

"Trayelo," she repeated waving her hand. Medli wasn't sure but she thought that meant to bring the pig in too. This seemed to be the case when she carried it inside and Señora Elena didn't object. She took them to a room with several couches and armchairs. It was nice and cool in contrast to outside on the beach. Link stared around in silence at the decorations on the walls: many spears and swords much like the one's he'd seen in Suna's shrine.

"Sientanse," Señora Elena said, lowering her hands slowly. The four took this to mean sit down and did so. The pig curled up in Medli's lap and snorted contentedly. Señora Elena smiled and left the room. The group stared around at each other in confusion.

"Why didn't we think about what Rosari told us?" Tetra asked. "About her grandmother refusing to learn the new language."

"It just didn't click," Medli shrugged. "Not much we can do about it now. It would be pointless to walk all the way back to town. Rosari would be coming home by then," she said, pointing to a clock on the wall.

"Three-thirty?" Komali said disbelievingly. "Jeez, it'll be sundown before too long. When do you think Luis gets out of school?"

"How should I know? I never went to school?" Tetra replied.

"Nor us," Medli said. "There was that school on Windfall Island, but I was never there long enough to get to know the place."

"Ditto," Tetra said.

"Hey, Link. Do you know what time that school on Windfall lets out?" Komali asked, turning to Link. Link didn't answer. "Link?" he repeated. Link seemed deep in thought and may not have heard Komali. "Hellooo?" he waved a hand in front of Link's blank gaze.

"Huh- wha-?" Link snapped out of his reverie.

"The school on Windfall Island. Do you know when it closes?" Komali said slowly, almost as though talking to a stupid person.

"Oh, yah, Mrs. Marie let them out of there at about four," Link said rather hastily. Komali raised an eyebrow.

"What's with you? Why'd you go all spaced out on us?" he asked.

Link shrugged. "Meh, I was just thinkin'," he answered. In truth the words three-thirty had gotten him thinking about what had happened just twelve hours ago, when Tetra had climbed into his bed. That was enough to get him thinking to what he'd done on the way over here, holding Tetra's hand. He knew she had been joking, but there was a small part of him somewhere that hoped that on some level, it had been serious; that she really did want to hold his hand. That's why he'd continued to hold her hand, to see if she herself would pull away. But she hadn't...

"So what do we do until they get here? I mean, it's not like we can talk to the old lady our selves," Tetra said. Speaking of whom, Señora Elena returned to the room in clean clothes.

"Lo siento para no hablo su idioma," she said, sitting down in one of the armchairs.

"This sucks..." Komali whispered to Link, who nodded his head.

"She's back?" came a small voice.

"What the-?" Link started to ask before the small voice started screaming.

"Señora! Señora! Ayudame!!!" it shouted.

"Navi?!" Link exclaimed, pulling out the bottle he'd corked her in.

"Qué?" Señora Elena said, eyes widening. She grabbed the bottle out of Link's hands and released Navi. "Hablas la idioma antigua de la Gerudo?"

"Sí," Navi answered. The four teenagers gaped. "Su nieta, Rosari, nos enviaba."

"Ah! Yo veo! Están los niños que se deshacieron de esos matones en ciudad?" Señora Elena asked.

"Sí otra vez," Navi said.

"Ay!" Señora Elena cried grabbing the nearest teen, coincidentally Tetra, around the shoulders and squeezing. "Ay carumba! Tú salvaba la ciudad! Felicitaciones por su victoria!

"Urk!" Tetra exclaimed, struggling under the pressure. "Navi, please tell her to let go."

"Ella quiere que abrazas más ajustado," Navi said. Señora Elena squeezed tighter.

"Navi!!!"

"Puedes dejar ahora," Navi said and Señora Elena let go.

"Por qué Rosari te enviaba aquí?" she asked as she sat down again.

"Porque necesitamos ella venir con nosotros en nuestro barco durante unas pocas dias," Navi replied.

"Otra ves, por qué?"

"Porque ella es la descendiente de la familia real de la Gerudo," Navi said. Señora Elena remained silent for a moment. "Tú comprendes?"

"Sí... comprendo..." Señora Elena said slowly. "...Este tiene algo hacer con el Rey Malo?"

"Oh, no! No, no, no!" Navi answered. "Este tiene nada hacer con el Rey Malo."

"Ah," Señora Elena said, relieved. "Bueno. Muy bueno."

"Así que Rosari puede venir con nosotros?" Navi requested. Señora Elena gave it a little bit of though.

"...Sí. Puede."

"Ay! Gracias!" Navi exclaimed and flew back over to the four with the puzzled looks. "You never put me in a bottle again," she said. They nodded their heads fervently.

"What exactly did you guys say?" Link asked.

"I told her we needed Rosari to come with us for a few days because she is the descendant of the Gerudo royal family and she said yes," Navi explained.

"Really?!" they asked.

"Really," Navi answered.

"Navi, if you weren't so tiny I'd hug you right now!" Tetra grinned.

"As well you should," Navi replied. "Now all we have left to do is wait for Rosari gets home."

"Can you ask her how long that will take?" Medli asked.

Navi nodded her head and turned to Señora Elena. "Señora, a qué hora Rosari y Luis vuelven usualmente?" she asked.

"Hmm..." Señora Elena thought about it, looking to the clock. "Bien, deberían estar aquí ya," she said a hint of worry in her voice.

"De verdad? Navi asked. She looked worried as well. "I hope whoever got to Komali didn't get to her as well..." she said.

"What?" Link asked eyes widening.

"Señora Elena said Rosari should have been home by now," Navi said. "It's four-thirty now and the sun's beginning to set."

"Ay! Ojala qué no se llevaba a las Cuevas Crepúsculos," Señora Elena exclaimed looking out the window at the sun setting beyond the western horizon.

"Dusk Caverns?" Navi asked, following her gaze. "What are-?" They heard a scream out in the desert, and not half a minute later it was followed by loud cries.

"Señora! Señora! Ayudase! Es Rosari! Está en peligro!"

"Luis?!" Señora Elena exclaimed leaping out of her chair and hurrying to the front door.

"Guys! Come on! Rosari's in trouble!" Navi exclaimed, flying after her. Everyone rushed out the front door and across the beach to Luis.

"Luis, what happened? Where-? Ah!" Tetra cried as several green blobs popped out of the sand.

"Leevers?!" Link and Navi exclaimed, Link pulling out his sword and beginning to slash at the monsters, protecting the group of people behind him. There were about four rounds of these guys until they finally stopped popping out of the sand. He turned around and heard Luis speaking rapid Gerudo to Señora Elena.

"Los monstrous! Se llevan Rosari! Se llevan! Ayudase! Salva la! Salva la!"

"Luis! Calm down!" Tetra said kneeling to the boy's level. "The monsters, were they the ones that Link just fought?" she asked glancing at Link, who had just rejoined them.

"No! They were smaller!" Luis answered.

"Smaller?" Link repeated.

"Sí! But there were a lot of them! They flew around in a big group and looked like bats! But they were meaner, and some of them weren't black like bats! And- and they had a big stick with a blade on the end! Like the one Señora sometimes uses to kill the pigs," Luis said.

"A scythe," Navi bobbed.

"Do you know what it is, Navi?" Tetra asked.

"Ay! Es Gomez!" Señora Elena exclaimed. "Es el guerrero guadaña de las Cuevas! Ay, Rosari!" she cried in anguish as she swooned and began to fall. Komali yelped and caught her.

"What did she say?" Komali asked.

"She said it's Gomess. He's the scythe warrior of the Caverns," Navi said.

"Scythe warrior?" Link asked. "Ring any bells yet, Navi?"

"Uhn-uh," she answered. "I'm pretty sure I've never heard of it." They heard a howling in the distance and looked around, realizing the sun had completely set. "A wolfos... I guess they aren't extinct."

"Link! Please, you must help save Rosari!" Luis pleaded.

"Absolutely, Luis. We're going to get your cousin," Tetra said.

"But you have to show us where the Dusk Caverns are," Komali added as Señora Elena stood up again.

"Sí! Follow me!" Luis said, turning toward the forest at the edge of the beach.

"Señora, por favor vete de la casa," Navi said. Señora Elena nodded and hurried back to the house. The group started to follow Luis, but Navi grabbed Link by the hat. "Link, you realize this is still not coincidence, right?" she asked.

"Of course! I'm not stupid! I know whatever's going on has to do with whoever wants the descendants!" he responded as he stopped and turned to face her. His eyes widened. "The descendants!" he repeated looking to Komali and Tetra, both of whom, along with Luis and Medli- who was still holding the freaging pig- had stopped as well.

"What's up?" Komali asked.

"You guys have to go back to the pirate ship," Link said. "Fly there, fast."

"What?" Tetra and Komali asked.

"It's not safe for you two to come along. The same person who made Jabun swallow you has to be behind this too," Link explained. "You guys can't come or else he might get you."

"Please!" Tetra scoffed. "There's no way they're gonna touch me. They probably don't even realize we're here."

"Tetra, more likely than not they do know we're here because they're trying to undo everything we're doing," Link said. "And even if they don't, they're sure gonna know by the time we reach Rosari and at that point they'll be going for whoever they can get."

"You can't go down there alone! You had no idea this place even existed and _no_ one knows what the deal is with this Gomess freak," Tetra countered.

"I'm not going down there alone. I'll have Medli and Navi with me," he responded.

"What about me?!" Luis exclaimed somewhat indignantly.

"I'll deal with you later," Link said offhandedly.

"Tetra, Link has a point," Komali said. "Just gimme a minute to say goodbye to Medli and we'll fly back to the pirate ship."

"No!" Tetra said. Komali shook his head and sighed, moving over to Medli who all but dropped the pig and threw her arms around Komali's neck, giving him her second kiss.

"Tetra-," Link started.

"No, Link! I'm not sitting back and being useless!" Tetra cut him off. "I can take care of myself. I've never had anyone to protect me."

"The pirates," Link said.

"Yeah... well!" Tetra retorted. "The point is I don't need you to send me off to the sidelines!" Link pressed his palms against his eyes frustratedly, growling slightly. "There's no point to it! Just because we need me to play the Bond of Brotherhood so you can go in and get Selphie's soul!"

"Tetra...!"

"I may be a princess, but I'm not a porcelain doll! Who cares if it's dangerous in there?! Rosari's in there and _she's_ a princess," Tetra said throwing her arms up in the air.

"Dammit, Tetra! This isn't about you being a princess!!!" Link shouted, grabbing her by the wrists. Tetra stared at him in shock and he stared right back. "You're going back to the ship where it's safe and we don't have to worry about anything coming to get you."

"..."

Komali came over and Tetra clung to him piggyback. The two took off and flew over the beach and bag back to the pirate ship. Link sighed, turning back to Medli, Luis, and Navi. "Come on. Let's go save Rosari." They nodded and Luis led the way once more. Medli was giving Link strange looks, small smirks flitting across her face, which she would quickly hide. Link noticed them and knew what was on her mind. "When are you gonna break the news to Komali?" he asked.

"Break what news?" Medli asked, dropping a grin and giving him a confused look.

"That you're leaving him for the cochina," he smirked. Medli looked at the pig that was _still_ in her arms and frowned.

"The pig is not my new boyfriend," she scowled. "I don't even know if it is a boy."

"La cochina?' Luis asked, glancing over his shoulder as they reached the woods. He turned around and took the pig from Medli. It started to squeal when it was taken from her arms. Luis held the pig with his underside facing him. "Sí, es un chico." He handed the pig back to Medli. The pig silenced at once. "It's a boy all right."

"How do you know?" she asked. Luis gave a small laugh and turned around beginning to walk again. "Oh..." Medli said, blushing slightly. Link laughed at her and she hit him in the arm. "So what's the deal with these Caverns anyway? Señora Elena looked pretty worried when she first mentioned them."

"That is because legend says they are cursed," Luis said. "They are a bunch of caves leading under the island. The Dusk Caverns are actually just the western opening, where we're going in. There is another opening on the eastern side of the island near Port of Sun. If you were to go in there they would be called the Dawn Caverns. But you cannot go in the Dawn Caverns after the sun has set and you cannot go into the Dusk Caverns after the sun has risen."

"Okay... is that the curse?" Link asked. He noticed suddenly that since they had entered the forest the ground had begun to slope gradually upward.

"No... the curse is that you cannot come out the way you entered. If ever you go into the Dusk Caverns you must survive the night and make it to the day," Luis said. "It goes opposite for the Dawn Caverns: If ever you go in them you must survive the day and make it to the night. But everyone knows that day is less dangerous than night. And dawn will not break until the person makes it out."

"So the person always lives to see the day again?" Medli asked, stumbling over a large rock that was sticking out of the ground- probably just the tip of the ice burg.

"I said make it out... not make it out alive..." Luis said solemnly. Medli cringed.

"I have a feeling we won't have to worry about Rosari dying," Link said.

"What makes you say that?" Medli asked.

"I don't know... I just got a feeling that this person wants all of the descendants alive," Link said. "That all they're trying to do is to get them where _we_ can't get to them and then once they have them all they have their own purpose for them..."

"We're here," Luis said suddenly. They had reached a small clearing in the trees. There was a rock overhang and a small opening beneath it, leading down into even deeper darkness. "That's the way into the Dusk Caverns."

****'

Me: Yay! I have been dying to write about the Dawn and Dusk Caves since I created Gigas Island! Yayness! But if any of you didn't know, Gomess is a sub-boss in the Stone Tower Temple from LoZ: Majora's Mask. You'll see more of him next chapter probably. Maybe the next, I may end up going to the CCC next chap. Feh.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed Señora Elena. Lol. That was probably the funnest part of this chapter, having the crazy old lady running around, chasing a pig with an axe over head and screaming at the top of her lungs in Spanish. That was just too much fun... I had forgotten all about Navi for a little while there. Then I remembered and I realized _she_ probably spoke ancient Gerudo, seeing as she's been around since about the time Hyrule was created. So that worked, seeing as I clearly needed a mediator/translator.

Once more, I require an aw for Link and Tetra. And Rosari is an awesome cook. I got myself uber hungry when I wrote about breakfast... fortunately my mom showed up shortly after with Popeye's! Which I had been CRAVING ever since I started seeing its commercials on the teley again. And the pig _does_ have some significance. And it's just fun to play with. Especially the part where Luis told Medli that it was a boy. Lol.

Oh, and I've discovered that Yahoo! Graffiti is one of the funnest games ever! You guys oughta try it sometime. It's kinda like pictionary, but cooler. If you do decide to play, look up my sn- littlechickadee7377.

Okay, let you guys go. Keep an ear out for the next chap! Buh-byes! R&R!


	12. Chapter 11

Me: Yay! New chapter! Oi... this one and the next aren't going to be as good because they're dungeon chaps and I've never been very good at those. Especially when I had to design the dungeon all on my own!

Din: Yup. She's designing a dungeon all on her own.

Nayru: By herself. With no help from anybody else.

Farore: ...Well a few random suggestions from random friends and family members...

Me: And this will only be the first... I've got many more original dungeons coming. What'd you expect? Just about everywhere in this story is new! We're not within the limits of the Great Sea anymore! It is also in this chapter where you will _really_ gain some respect for Dimitra and gain an understanding of her background. Well, that's all I've got for now.

Oh! Wait! Reviewers! Didn't there used to be more of you? Oh, well. I like the ones I've got and that's good enough for me. Yes, yes, Kearra, we get it. You like him... perhaps I should pull a Kage and tell everyone that y-!

Darunia: puts hand over Selphie's mouth Thinking no. You don't want to invoke the wrath or your best friend. You've seen what it does.

Me: Yah... you're probably right... she'll probably hurt me for just that anyways... Oh, well, moving along. Aliasfan: just for recap, the CCC is the Core Custody Chamber where Selphie and the others are imprisoned.

Tingle: I liked your happy little elf dance! copies it

Everyone: O.O

Din: Congratulations, Aliasfan... you've made a new friend.

Me: Anyway... Finally we have Bvv. Yay for Link and Tetra. Hehe. No fluff in this chapter. And yeah, there are a lot of cognates between Spanish and French. My sister thinks I'm crazy too, but we love each other for it.

Darunia: Disclaimer: She does not own anything Zelda-fied.

Tingle: The only characters in this fic that she owns are Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Mace, Curt, Rosari, Luis, Señora Elena, and la cochina.

Me: Anyway, read on wonderful readery reading reader peoples!

****'

Chapter 10:

_Selphie's eyes were closed. She was still sleeping a day after the _incident_. It had been a lot of trauma for the young teen, and sleep was almost welcomed because it took her away from that place, away from the event... away from _him_..._

_The girl groaned, slowly finally waking. She felt something cold on her legs. It was wet too. She realized her pants were down around her knees and thought that perhaps Sakon was at it again. Selphie pried her eyes open, praying that Sakon was not still near. To her surprise, it was Dimitra that she found leaning over her._

"_D-Dimitra...?" she asked hoarsely, putting her hand to her forehead, which she realized also had something wet on it. It was a cloth. "W-wha...?" She also realized that Dimitra was gently wiping at the inside of her legs._

"_Shhhh..." Dimitra hushed softly, glancing in the direction of the opposite corner of the room. Sakon was sitting on his bed, both watching Link and the others and working at their plot. Mace and Curt sat nearby and turned their heads slightly at the sound. "You don't want to wake Sakon from 'is spell and let 'im know you're awake... I managed to get Mace and Curt to keep look out, but you don't want to make it 'appen any sooner..." She continued wiping at Selphie's legs._

"_You're very lucky..." Dimitra said softly._

"_Am I?" Selphie whispered somewhat sarcastically._

"..._Besides zat..." Dimitra answered. "Any longer and zare probably would 'ave been some permanent damage... I hope you don't mind I tore off part of your sleevez... it waz zee only cloth available besidez Mace's sarong... and quite frankly no one wanted 'im to take it off." She gave Selphie a small smile, but Selphie did not return it. She just remained silent and Dimitra returned to wiping._

_When she was finished, Dimitra hid the cloths on the underside of the table and walked back over to Selphie, who was pulling up her pants again. The girl sat back down on the bed and looked at Dimitra. "...Why?"_

"'_Why' what?" Dimitra asked._

"_Why did you stand up for me then? Why are you helping me now?" Selphie asked, folding her hands in her lap and lowering her head, turning it slightly to look at the Deku woman._

"..." _No answer._

"..._You said you didn't want to see the same thing happen to someone else..." Selphie said softly._

"..."

"..._Did this happen to you too?"_

"..." _Dimitra looked away and sighed, looking back to Selphie again. "Yes," she said._

"_Who did it?" Selphie asked._

"..._The Deku King..." Dimitra said. She spoke no more and Selphie sat in thought for a moment._

"..._I heard... about a Deku woman who accused the king of raping her... and then ordering the death of her and the bastard child..." Selphie said. Dimitra sat silently for a moment and turned her head away. "...She was his daughter... the Deku Princess..." Dimitra grimaced slightly and remained silent for a moment more. "...Your Highness...?" Selphie ventured._

_Dimitra took a deep breath and turned back to Selphie, giving her a small smirk. "You're an Ikanan... you don't have to call anyone that but Igos."_

"_Then it's true," Selphie said._

"_Oui..." Dimitra said. "I was the Deku Princess up until the night my father tried to kill me..."_

"_Your name used to be Fleur..." Selphie said._

"_Again, until my fozzer (father) tried to kill me," Dimitra said. "'E wanted to make sure all evidence of zee incest was destroyed... 'e forgot zat I 'ad trained wiss zee witches Kotake and Koume." Selphie stared at her confusedly for a moment. "Zey _did _live in zee swamp, non?"_

"_Right..." Selphie nodded her head. "What happened exactly?"_

_Dimitra took a deep breath and frowned slightly. "Do you really want to know?" Selphie nodded her head. "Well... My fozzer, zee Deku King was..." Dimitra paused, trying to think of a way to phrase it. Selphie gave her a prompting look. "In constant need of companionship, shall we say," Dimitra finished the sentence._

"_When my muzzer (mother) was killed by Jeimjine assassins, my fozzer was left wiss no one to... satisfy 'is needs." She frowned, "Wiss zee war going 'e couldn't very well court anyone and find a new spouse, and as a figure of such social standing as a king, he could not risk a scandal by buying 'is pleasures..."_

_Selphie frowned. "But wait, I remember something about a wedding?" she said. Dimitra smiled ruefully, absent-mindedly playing with the ring on her finger. This was the first Selphie noticed said ring._

"_Yes... I did get married... to a wonderful Deku man," Dimitra said. "It was supposed to be zee happiest day of my life, but sanks to my fozzer it turned out to be zee worst... well... second worst..." She paused for a moment and grimaced. "It was zee night before zat he made 'is move._

"_In short, he lured me to 'is chambers and invaded me," Dimitra went on. "I didn't say anysing at first becauze I was embarrassed, and even when I found out zat I was wiss child I didn't point any fingers. No one would ever 'ave 'ad to know zat zee child was 'is. Even my 'usband was willing to claim zee baby as 'is own... But my fozzer knew zee truth, and 'e did not believe zee secret could be kept._

"_Zat aliboron was zee reason zee child existed in zee first place. 'E was lucky zat we were at war wiss Jeimjine or else I would exposed 'im at zee outset. But 'e decided zat 'e didn't want to risk it... and so, 'e 'ired assassins to kill 'is son, my 'usband, and myself." She paused taking a deep breath, almost seeming on the verge of tears. "Zey smozered my son wiss 'is own pillow. And zen zey tried to smozer us as well._

"_My 'usband and I managed to wake up before zee assassins could do zeir work on us... but my child was dead, and I knew it was my fozzer's doing." Dimitra sneered, and a hatred filed her eyes. "'E won over zee public by calling 'is grandson's death a horrible tragedy and declaring a manhunt for zose responsible. It was zen zat I called 'im out for zee man-'ore 'e was._

"_Zat aliboron! 'E 'ad a plan for defense just in case such a sing 'appened. 'E turned zee blame on me, saying zat I was a slut and had been sleeping around. My bastard son's death, 'e said, was my own doing, zat I was merely trying to cover my own tracks so zat no one, especially my own 'usband, would know of my prostitution._

"'_E did not order any kind of punishment, but I got it... in spades..." she sneered. "'E may not 'ave dealt zee punishment 'imself, but 'e 'ad turned our people against us. When my 'usband stood by me, zey derided 'im and said 'e was an idiot for standing by such an 'ore. Zey said 'e should drop me, leave me, make me suffer for my adultery, make an example of me. 'E refused, and for doing so zey stoned 'im to death." There was a short intake of breath from Selphie and the girl stiffened slightly._

"_When zey 'ad taken my 'usband I knew zey were no people of mine. Zese cochons were no better zan zee Jeimjine invaders. Zey were petty, ungrateful. My muzzer died for _zem_, and I would not be surprised if my fozzer 'ad somesing to do wiss zat too. Zey as good as killed my muzzer, my son, and stoned my 'usband right in front of me. I would not be associated wiss zem anymore._

"_I shed my title of princess and the name they had bestowed upon me... _Fleur_..._ flower_... Ha! A flower would never do what I was planning. Flowers are pure, innocent- for zee most part anyway- and I would not be considered a flower. No, I would need a new persona for my new role. A new name to suit my new dark vision: Dimitra._

"_Zee Dekus were just like zose Jeimjine pigs, and so, I would deliver zem right to zee invading nation. It was quite fortunate zat I 'ad learned magic from zee witches, for I would not 'ave been able to spy on my fozzer and zee uzzer (other) leaders wissout it. I spied on zem, learned all of zeir strategies down to zee last soldier, and I presented it to Jeimjine in a pretty red ribbon. I 'ad even devised zee exact countermeasures zee Jeimjine armies should take in order to thwart zee plans of my fozzer and zee uzzers. It was perfect... until I found out one problem I 'ad overlooked before."_

"_What was that?" Selphie asked._

"_Zee Jeimjine cochons were far too alike to zee very people I was trying to betray- pompous, egotistical. Zey would not use my plans- my perfect plans- for zee simple reason zat I had been zee one to devise zem. Wissout zat, zey failed miserably and all my spying was for naught, especially when some of zee prisoners of war decided to tell zem all about me. Zat was my downfall... if not for zat I would 'ave 'ad my revenge on zee cochons zat ruined my life. And so I was taken to Ikana for zee Elegy of Emptiness, yada yada, zee rest you know..." she finished waving her hand dismissively._

_She looked over at Selphie. "I 'ave experienced zee pain... I 'ave seen zee results... I 'ave contemplated zee solutions... I did not want to see zee life of anuzzer perfectly innocent female ruined for zee sick pleasure of a man..." she said. "Zat is why I tried to stop Sakon." Selphie stared back at Dimitra._

"_I thank you for that... I only wish it had been more successful..." she said._

"_Heh..." Dimitra's laugh lacked all forms of humor. "You 'ave no idea just 'ow unsuccessful we were," she said gravely. "But you will find out soon enough..." There was a soft whistling noise across the room. They turned their heads to see Curt and Mace._

_Mace had whistled, signaling that Sakon was almost done. Dimitra looked back over at Selphie. "You never speak of what I told you. And you most certainly do not let on zat I 'elped you. Is zat clear?" shedding the kinder demeanor she had taken when she was telling her story._

"..._Crystal..." Selphie said, slightly put out by the change in expressions._

"_Bien." She left Selphie, joining the boys on the other side of the room, and pretended as though she had never talked to her._

_On the other side of the room Sakon had come out of the spell. He was scowling slightly. "What's the matter? Did it work? Are the Sheikahs-?" Mace asked._

"_The spell worked just fine. They will be within access soon enough," Sakon snapped making his way to the table and sitting down, propping his feet up. "It's that friend of hers... Link... he's starting to figure out just what we're trying to do..." he growled. "If we do not speed up this process then they're going to figure it out and completely ruin everything!" he pounded his fist loudly on the table. He glanced around at his comrades. "If he gathers those descendants first he will be the one to come down here. And not only will that make it more difficult for our Lord Hopeful to come in and get us, but we will lose the girl!" he looked over at Selphie. "And then I won't be able to reap the benefits of my actions last night..."_

"_Well, then, we'll just make sure he doesn't get anymore of our people," Curt said._

"_You're damn right we will..." Sakon breathed dangerously. "Or all of our plans... everything we have looked forward to for one thousand years will be ruined..."_

"All right! Vamanos! We must save Rosari!" Luis cried out, running toward the cave opening.

"Where's he think he's going?" Link said to Medli, hurrying forward and grabbing Luis.

"Ay! What are you waiting for?" Luis asked.

"Luis, you're not coming in there with us, it's too dangerous," Link said. "Please, take the pig and go back and stay with Señora Elena."

"What?! But I want to help save my cousin!" Luis protested. "I want to be a hero!" he grinned, trying to make a muscle.

"Luis, how old are you?" Medli asked, kneeling in front of him.

"Ten!" he answered. "...Well, almost ten anyways."

"Even ten is too little to go in there, Luis," Link said. "From what you told us I don't think even Rosari is old enough to go in there."

"No 'buts,'" Medli said, handing the pig over, which immediately started squealing loudly. "You're going home and waiting for us. Do you understand?"

"...Sí..." Luis said dejectedly.

"Good," Medli said as she and Link started toward the cave again. "Be careful on your way there."

"And watch out for leevers!" Navi added as she and the other two disappeared into the Caverns.

The pig still hadn't stopped squealing. It was taking everything Luis had to hold the pig in his arms. "Ay! Cochina! Come on! Hold still!" He struggled with the pig threw the forest for about ten or fifteen minutes until he reached the beach. The pig was still squirming, so Luis set him down. "You are hopeless! We are going back to stay with Señora Elena. Perhaps then she'll turn you into salchicha and we won't have to worry about you causing anymore trouble..."

He started to walk into the sand when a large purple leever popped up and started toward them. "Oh, cielos!" Luis exclaimed with wide eyes, retreating back into the woods quickly. The pig caught one look at the giant leever and took off, running through the trees. "Ay! Cochina!!!" Luis yelled chasing after it. It took some time, but Luis finally caught up to the pig again, and he found him outside the Dusk Caverns. While catching his breath he stared at the pig, which stared right back at him, turning his head every so often to look into the Caverns.

"...So... you want to go in there and find them?" he asked the pig. The pig cocked its head to the side. "You're certainly not going home, are you? You miss Medli, don't you?" The pig cocked its head to the other side. "Well, if you so insist, we'll go in there and find your friend." Luis walked up to the cave opening and climbed inside...

Link and Medli made their way downward through a long tunnel, stepping around stalagmites growing up from the floor and ducking under stalactites hanging over their heads. "So far so good... what do you think is so dangerous about these caverns besides the Gomess?" Medli asked.

"I don't know. I've never really been in any caverns. Couple of caves, but they were kind of artificial I think," Link answered. "They didn't have these things hanging from the ceiling."

"They're called stalactites," Navi said, being careful to avoid flying directly underneath of them. Medli noticed it.

"Are they dangerous?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know about these ones, but in the Ice Cavern they could fall from the ceiling and hit you," Navi answered. The teens' eyes widened slightly and they each stepped out from under the stalactites above them. They reached the end of the sloping corridor and found a row of closely growing stalagmites.

"...A dead end?" Medli said as Link stepped forward and examined them. They grew straight to the ceiling, which was somewhat lower here. "Well, how are we going to find Rosari then?"

"And get out of the caverns for that matter," Navi added somewhat nervously.

"What?"

"We can't exit the way we entered. If we can't get through here, there's no way for us to get out," Navi explained.

"You mean we're going to be stuck here forever?!" Medli exclaimed.

"No. We're not," Link said.

"How do you mean-?" Link jiggled a gem sticking out of the wall next to the stalagmites. They watched as the stalagmites sank into the floor, opening the way into a new room. "...Oh..."

As soon as they stepped through the door a crystalline portcullis slammed down over it, startling them. They found their selves in a large yawning room. More stalactites covered the ceiling, though the ceiling was a lot higher up. They could see on the other side of the room was another stalagmite door. "I'd say let's go, but that excursion to the bottom of the Earth Temple taught me better," Medli said.

Navi flew over to the other side, examined the door and returned. "Listen, there's a crystalline portcullis over the other door," she said.

Link nodded, taking a few steps into the room, looking around, "That means there's something in here we gotta do, but I don't see it." Suddenly he stopped, holding out his hand for Medli to do so as well.

"What is it?" the Rito girl asked.

"There's something in here..." Link muttered. His eyes widened and he looked up just as several blue chuchus fell from the ceiling, surrounding him. "Oh, they're just chuchus," Link sighed. He took out his sword and took a slash at one of them. "Ah!!!" he screamed as electrical energy shot out of the chuchu, electrocuting him and knocking him back several feet.

"I don't think they're _just_ chuchus," Navi said.

"Clearly," Link coughed. He pulled out his boomerang and threw it at the nearest chuchu. Then he attacked it with the sword and was relieved to not get shocked again. Link went on to take out the rest of the blue blobs and they all grinned when the portcullis over the door disappeared, and in the middle of the room a chest materialized. Medli walked over and opened it as Link put away his sword.

"That's convenient," she said as she pulled out a dungeon map. She opened it up and looked at it. "This place is pretty extensive," she said. Link walked over and looked at it. "We won't know where anything is until we get the compass though," she said.

"And thus, still don't know where Rosari is..." Link said, peering at the map. Medli handed the map and they both stood up, Link rolling up the map and pocketing it. "Well, that doesn't mean we can't find her. Let's go." They walked over to the stalagmite door, jiggled the gem next to it, and stepped through.

This next room had a much lower ceiling. Stalagmites and stalactites were either so long or so tall that they actually connected to make large natural columns. There were so many that the room was almost maze-like. Despite its lower ceiling, the room was still rather large. Link started twitching his nose and then reached up and rubbed his sleeve across it. "Gotta sneeze?" Medli asked.

"No, there's something wet on it," Link answered, pulling his arm away.

"Yipe!" Navi exclaimed as a drop of water pelted her.

"Where's that coming from?" Link asked, looking up. They were suddenly aware of a roaring noise above them. "Do you guys hear that?"

"I think we're underneath the river," Medli said stepping forward and looking up as well.

"That would explain the extra water drops," Navi said, squeaking as another water drop hit her. They heard several more squeaking noises and waited for them to stop.

"Navi, if the water drops are hitting you that much, why don't you just move?" Link asked. Navi was hit again, this drop somewhat larger and dove into Link's hat. They started walking and still heard squeaking noises. "Okay, Navi, there's no way it can be hitting you through my hat."

"I'm not doing that," Navi said, peeking out.

"Then what the-?"

"Aik!" Medli shrieked as she was hit from the side. "What's that?" she asked looking around. They couldn't see any source until many little red dots appeared in the shadows. "What's that?"

Suddenly the eyes started coming in at them, and they were attached to small black balls. "Watch out!" Navi exclaimed. These small black balls came from all around them and leapt and attacked from all sides.

"Medli, can you get to one of the stalagmites and hide for a minute?" Link asked. Medli nodded her head and forced her way through the barrage of small black balls to a column and stood behind it, peeking out a bit.

Link pulled out his sword and took out a few of the balls nearest him. Then he crouched for a moment, like he'd done with the hurricane spin. But he didn't stay like that for as long, and instead spun only once, sending a wave of energy flying from his sword. All of the creatures were knocked back and disappeared into wispy blue smoke. "Good job, Link," Navi said, poking out of his hat again.

"Any idea what those things were called, Navi?" Link inquired.

"Mm-mmn," Navi answered. "I've never seen them."

Link sighed, "What good's having a fairy around who's as old as Hyrule if she can't even tell me what a simple black ball with eyes is called?"

"Hmph!" Navi replied huffily, going back inside his hat.

"Ow...!" Link exclaimed, frowning slightly as several hairs were pulled from the top of his head. Medli rolled her eyes.

"Can we just get going?" she asked. There were a few more squeaking noises coming from other parts of the room. "I don't think that was all of those things." Link nodded his head, walking around the columns toward the door on the other side of the room. This one didn't even have a portcullis, and Link only had to jiggle the gem to open it.

Once again a portcullis slammed down over the door and they were trapped. Medli looked around, or tried to anyway. "Link... did I go blind?" she asked.

Link blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing correctly, or not seeing for that matter. "I hope not, because that means I did too," he answered. "Navi, come out of there now," he said. "The water's gone." Navi climbed out of his hat and hovered in front of his face. The fairy glowed with her own light and overcame the darkness- if only for a few inches. "Oh, good," he sighed. "I can see you."

"As can I," Medli added relievedly. "Which means this room is just pitch black." She paused for a moment. "Okay... new problem."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Link said, pulling the map out of his pocket. "Navi, come hover over the map so I can read it," he said. Navi complied and Link started squinting down at it, trying to make out the lines and boxes.

"Link, you're going to ruin your eyes if you keep squinting like that," Navi said.

"Yeah, and we don't want you looking like Mako," Medli smirked.

"Shaddap," he frowned, though neither of their facial expressions could be seen. "What do you expect me to do? We can't move around through this dark and we can't read the map unless I squint like this."

"Oh, please. Just light a fire arrow," Medli rolled her eyes- still unseen. Link's eyes widened slightly and he scowled.

"I would have thought of that..." he said, pulling out an arrow. A few seconds later its head lit up in flames and they were able to see for several feet around them. That was about all they could see though, because that's only as big as the room was. "Well, that was a waste of magic," Link said, pocketing the map once more, his scowl now clearly visible in the orange light of the fire arrow.

Medli shrugged, walking over to the door. "Oh, well. I doubt one fire arrow will be the difference between life and death," she said as Link joined her and opened the door.

"We shall see- wah!" he cried out as he stepped over the threshold. There was no floor on the other side.

"Link!" Medli exclaimed darting through the door and grabbing him. The door slammed closed, the portcullis falling over it. Medli almost started to fall too, but she quickly began flapping her wings and started to fly, or at least float in one place.

"Thanks, Medli," Link said, glancing up at her.

"Welcome. Glad to find I actually do have a purpose in here afterall," she smiled. He grinned as well. "So, uh, where exactly am I flying to?" she asked.

"Er..." Link looked around the room and found that the chasm seemed to go on forever to the left and right but a rocky wall rose up about twenty feet ahead of them. There was a niche in the wall somewhat below them and to the left on the other side. "Down there, for now at least," he said, pointing it out to her. Medli nodded and flapped over, dropping Link in the niche and then following in.

They looked around the humble niche and found that there was a door- but that there was a sort of lock over it. Medli looked over and placed her hand on it. "Okay, so perhaps this isn't the way to go," she said, turning back.

"Well, let's see what _is_ the way to go then," Link said pulling out the map. Medli joined him and they peered at the map. "This room has doors on three different levels," he said, pointing them out. "There's one farther down to the right of where we entered," he said, pointing to a niche on the same side of the chasm they were on.

"I see one almost directly below us," Navi said, indicating another.

"And one more a little farther left below us," Link said, indicating a last one. "It looks like the one farther down and the one below us are blocked off though."

"So, we'll go to the one next to it," Medli said. Link nodded his head and pocketed the map again. He picked Medli up and held onto her feet as they jumped out of the niche and Medli flew down to their left into the niche. Just as shown on the map, the door was unlocked and they walked through.

"Ay! Come on, cochina! Rapidamente!" Luis cried as he ran through the room, the pig at his heels.

"_Oink-oink!_" it squealed. They ran in between columns and soon forgot which direction they were going in. All they knew is that they were running from the small black balls that were behind them.

"Oh! Bueno!" Luis cried out suddenly, spotting a door between two columns ahead. He reached the door, picked up the pig, jiggled the gem, and stepped through, leaning heavily on it. "Ay, ay, ay..." he said. "I hope I don't have to deal with those... cosas ever again..." The pig dropped its rear end to the floor and sat panting as well. Luis stood up straight again and looked around the room. "Hala..." he said.

The roof of the room was covered in glowing white spikes growing in all directions on the ceiling, which was still fairly low. "They look like orquídeas," he said. He took a few steps into the room, staring up at the anthodites. He frowned slightly in thought and reached up, taking one in his hand and pulling gently. It broke off cleanly in his hand. He grinned. "Guay," he said.

Luis turned around to look at the pig. "Oy, cochina. Look at this," he said. The pig looked up and cocked its head to the side. Luis grinned again and put the anthodite in his pocket.

"_Peep-peep!_"

"Oops!" Luis grimaced slightly. "Lo siento, Pyoko," he said to the baby bird that poked its head out of his pocket. "I forgot you were in there," he lightly pushed the chick back down and put the anthodite in his other pocket. "Well, vamanos, cochina," he said. The pig joined him at his heels and looked up at him. Luis turned around to grin at him. "We're going to save Rosari!"

Luis heard a squeaking noise behind him and his eyes widened. White balls were floating down from among the anthodites- and they had small red eyes.

"Dios mío... Estás bromeando?!" 

****'

Me: Okay, so I probably really screwed up the conjugation on that last line. It's supposed to say, "Oh, my god... Are you kidding?!" I didn't want you all to be confused if the translators didn't get it cuz I did a bad job. u.u Anyway, just so everyone knows, those little balls that were chasing everyone around were black boes and the ones that Luis just ran into were white boes. They usually disguise their selves as snowflakes, but I decided to hide them among the anthodites.

So, yeah, I used some cave terminology in here. I feel like such a geek for knowing this cause I love going in caverns. We went into the Seneca Caverns on our most recent camping trip and that was pretty cool. And just in case you couldn't tell, Luis went through a different door than Link and Medli in that one room. They'll find each other though...

And have you ever tried explaining to a nine year-old why he or she is too little to do something? Damn are they stubborn at that age. Hehe... I liked Luis' logic. "Well, I don't want to disobey Link, but if you're going to keep squealing we might as well go find Medli... and if we find Rosari on the way that's a-okay too." d

Enough about that part of the chapter, I must talk about Dimitra! I favor her. So, yeah, that's her story. One might think that because she has a purpose for being evil she would be less evil, but that is not true. She's far more malevolent than Curt or Mace and _far_ more dangerous. Possibly even more so than Sakon, but he's still the scariest. By far.

Yah, I never named the husband... didn't feel like it... didn't think it was necessary. Thanks, Kearra, for giving me her old name though. I went with that name because of Fleur Delacour from Harry Potter. Hehe... But, yeah. Now Dimitra's gotta turn on the cold shoulder so that Sakon doesn't know she's helping Selphie. Feh.

Okay, well, keep it real guys. I'll be back with another chapter soon, I guess. I still _really_ need to get on my summer reading and watching. School starts on the 30th... .o Enk! Oh, well. See ya later. R&R!


	13. Chapter 12

Me: Woohoo! I finally update!

Din: Yay!

Nayru: All right!

Farore: Awesome!

Me: Yup. Sorry, as I explained in my bio, I first had a lack of time and then I had writer's block. But then I pushed past it in the last few days.

For this particular chapter, I would like to give credit to several people. I'll wait until later for that there so that I don't give any spoilers. In the mean time, let me say thank you to my reviewers.

Katreal, yay for new reviewer person! Hehe, good job with the "aw" for the couples. _Big_ thing for Link and Tetra if you can read between lines this chapter. Aliasfan, yeah I didn't know which was which between stalagmites and stalactites either and had to ask my grandmother. I love going in caves though. And, yeah, Dimitra's father is sick, but Sakon is always going to be in a category all his own. Kearra, obviously you were right on the Fleur idea. Btw, congrats on your marriage!!!! Kearra and Curt tied the knot. Yay for them. Bvv, yup. Little kids can be uber annoying at that age. I got lucky though, mi hermana menor is a lot cooler.

Anyways... yah, I'll let you all read the story now. Enjoy!

Darunia: She does not own anything Zelda-fied.

Tingle: The only charas she does own are Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Mace, Curt, Rosari, Luis, Sra. Elena, and most- if not all- of the monsters appearing in this chapter.

****'

Chapter 11 

"Hmm... great, more doors," Navi said looking around the room. There were three more doors other than the one they entered through- one directly across from them and two on the left wall. The door they entered through was right up against the right wall.

Link looked at the wall to their right. "I think this is the room the next niche over leads to," he said, pointing at the wall.

"Probably," Medli said. She looked at the remaining three doors in this room and realized something. "Every one of the doors in this room has a barrier over it," she said, taking a few steps forward.

"Huh?" Link looked around as well.

"Well, how are we supposed to get out of here?!" Navi demanded.

"Don't worry, there's gotta be a way out of here," Link said. He looked around, not seeing anything on the floor and instead looked up at the ceiling. "See? Right there," he said, pointing at a stalactite that seemed out of place. This room's walls and ceiling were actually rather smooth, so the presence of the stalactite itself is what made it odd. He pulled out the boomerang and threw it at the stalactite. When struck, the stalactite turned blue in tint and the door closest them on the left wall became accessible.

"Good job, Link," Navi said as they made their way over. Jiggled the gem beside the door and it slid open. "Yipe!" she exclaimed as a deluge of water flooded out of the door drenching the three and knocking them back. Medli blinked several times, flicking water off of her feathers.

"What..." she spit some water out of her mouth. "The heck... was that?" She stood up again and squeezed her dress out in a few places. "Where did all that water come from anyway?" she asked as Link stood up and entered the room. It was a fairly small room. There was still water on the floor, and when he looked down he noticed that the floor wasn't hard stone like the rest of the caverns. It was almost like sand, and he saw little holes appear and disappear in it constantly, burbling up water.

"I think I see..." he said, kneeling down next to the spring. "This room hasn't' been opened in so long that the spring filled it up. When we opened it up all the water that had collected came out." There was a chest in the corner, and he opened it, finding the compass. "At least _one_ good thing came out of that," he said.

"Good, now we'll know which rooms to go in and which ones we can ignore so that I won't end up a very soaked Rito again," Medli said, wringing the excess water from her hair. "Take out the map again and we'll find out if we need to go through this next door." Link nodded his head and they looked at the map, which was miraculously still dry.

"Well, I think we _will_ have to go in this next room," Navi said, floating down to the box on the map. "It has a small key in it."

"And we always need those," Link agreed. He took out the boomerang again and threw it at the stalactite. This time it turned red. The door to the spring closed and the portcullis over the door next to it raised. "All right, let's see what's in here." They walked over and he jiggled the gem next to it.

The door slid open and this time they threw their arms up to shield their faces from the rush of blistering heat that met them. "Where is that coming from?" Navi asked. They looked in the room and saw that the entire floor was covered in lava, a chest half-submerged in the corner.

"I can't get to that," Link said. "A- that heat is next to unbearable. B- I can't walk through lava or jump that far."

"Good thing I can fly then," Medli said, flapping her wings.

"Be careful, Medli," Link said. "You don't want to fall in that." Medli hugged the rather low ceiling as she flew over to the chest. She carefully lowered herself to the chest and put her hand to the latch.

"Ow!" she exclaimed. "It's burning hot!" she said. She thought for a moment and reached down, removing her tabard. She wrapped it around her hands and put her hand to the latch. She grinned as she opened it up, pulled out the key and flew back to Link.

"Clever," Navi commented. "Now I think we can get out of here."

"Right," Link said, striking the stalactite with his boomerang again. This time it changed to white and the door closed off the room with the lava in it and the portcullis over the final door raised. "Good, now we can get out of here," he said as he pocketed the key and they made their way to the door.

"Progress is always good," Navi agreed. "Even if it does involve getting completely soaked."

"Yah, but I think going in the one room dried me off," Medli grinned, replacing her tabard. They walked through the most recently opened door. On the other side was an empty L-shaped corridor. Link looked around suspiciously.

"It's too quiet in here," he said, frowning slightly. They walked down the passage and around the corner. Link continued to watch in all directions. Finally they found an open door at the end of the corridor. Surprised at the lack of encounter, Link opened the door and they found their selves on the alcove directly beside the one they had used to enter the room with the color-changing stalactite.

"A circle?" Medli asked.

"I guess so," Link answered, surprised almost. He pulled out the map and gave a half-smile. "Though we probably would have known that, had we looked closer at the map." Medli moved over and looked at the map as well.

"None of the rooms on this wall lead anywhere," she remarked after she'd looked at the map for a moment. Link looked at it, his eyes widening momentarily. "How do we get out of here then?"

"Don't panic," Navi said exasperatedly. "You guys _clearly_ don't look at the map close enough." She floated down to the chasm they were in and a niche on the opposite side of them.

"That was there the whole time?" Link asked, looking at the map more closely.

"Yes," Navi answered, declining to make a snide remark.

"Alright, let's go ahead and go there so we can get out of here ASAP," Medli said. She took hold of Link and flew out of the niche, landing in the one across the chasm. There was a single doorway with a portcullis and a floor switch in front of it. Link walked over and stepped on it. The portcullis disappeared.

"That was easy enough," he said stepping off again in the direction of the door. The portcullis reappeared. "Maybe not."

"Okay, how are we going to get through here?" Medli asked.

"Whoa!" Navi halted them. "You're not. If you can't go through together you don't go through yet. I don't trust this thing to let you both through."

"Well, _then_ what do we do?" Link asked.

"We should try the doorway on the other side of the chasm. It might have exactly what we need," Medli answered.

"Well, wait a second, it's blocked off anyway," Medli said, pointing to the map. "We might as well go ahead through the door on this side of the chasm anyway." Shortly thereafter, Medli flew them to the alcove and they walked through the door.

It was a rather large, rather square room. The light was dimmer, but they could still see. Taking a few steps inside, they could see nothing of much interest or threat. "Okay..." Medli said slowly as she looked around. "Another supposed dead end."

"There seem to be a lot of these..." Link muttered, looking around. There were stalagmites over the doorway and stalactites covering the ceiling. But not one of the stalactites looked like it would get rid of the stalagmites.

"I dunno, guys," Navi said softly. "I feel an evil presence in here." Link and Medli turned to look at her, each cocking an eyebrow. "What?"

"You feel an evil presence?" Link asked skeptically.

"Yes, an evil presence," Navi answered shortly. "I may not know what those black balls are, but I'm not completely useless." _Scratch, scrape, scratch_.She stiffened suddenly, looking around at the ceiling. _Scratch, scrape, scratch_. There it was again. She looked in its direction and vaguely thought she saw a stalactite moving.

"_Eehee hehe hee!_" There was a high-pitched laugh.

"Did you guys hear that?" she asked Link and Medli worriedly.

"Hear what?" Medli asked.

"_Ehee hee hee!_"

"There it was again!" Navi exclaimed, looking around at the ceiling. Several stalactites were trembling.

"I don't hear anything, Navi," Link said concernedly. "Are you imagining things?" The quivering stalactites continued moving in a dysfunctional line about the ceiling.

"Well, just look! Do you see the stalactites that are moving up there?!" Navi asked.

"What stalactites moving?" Medli asked. They all looked up and saw nothing. "Come on, let's go take a look at that door." She and Link started toward the other side of the room.

"Ooh...!" Navi whimpered anxiously, beginning to follow.

"_Beings who enter caverns get their just desserts!_" The trembling of the stalactites began again directly over Medli.

"Look out!" Navi cried out, flying at Medli's back and managing to knock her forward just enough to avoid the stalactite that fell right where she'd been standing previously.

"What the heck?!" Medli exclaimed fearfully.

"That!" Navi answered, flying in the direction of the empty ceiling where the stalactite had once been. Link and Medli looked up and their eyes widened at what they saw: a small creature looking similar to a purple Miniblin, but with a much longer and thinner tail that was pointed at the end. It also lacked horns, a spear, and a major overbite. Instead it had a second set of arms, each extremity ending with extra long claws, which he used to cling to and crawl around the ceiling.

"Ooh, they spots us," the creature said. "They spots us now Gremlin talk instead of think. Is about time they noticed Gremlin in Gremlin's room. Weird little ball know Gremlin here before, but little boy and girl no notice."

"Gremlin?" Link asked.

"Oh, a smart little boy. Yes, very smart. He can repeat what Gremlin already say, he can," Gremlin said, rubbing one pair of his hands together as he watched Link. "He too smart, too smart. I should gets rid of smart boy in Gremlin's room. Then Gremlin not have worry about smart boy and Master Gomess be so pleased that Gremlin have gots rid of smart boy."

"Gomess?" Medli repeated.

"Ooh, smart girl too, smart birdie-girl," Gremlin said, shifting his gaze to Medli. "Gremlin should gets rid of smart birdie-girl too. She might make problems too, she might. Gremlin gets rid of all intruders. Then no one want come to caverns ever again and Gremlin have quiet again." He darted back into the stalactites and began shaking them again in attempt to drop the rocks on top of Link and Medli.

"Look out!" Link exclaimed as he dove at Medli, pushing her out of the way again. They continued moving away from the falling objects.

"Eehee hehe hee!" Gremlin laughed. "Nasty little boy and girl can't avoid Gremlin's stalactites forever. And they no get through door unless Gremlin leave room! Not so smart now, is they?"

"Navi, we need some help!" Link said.

"I know, I know I'm thinking!" Navi said.

"Just distract him long enough for _me_ to think of something if necessary, but do _something_!" Link said.

"We can't keep running forever!" Medli added. Navi bobbed and then flew up toward Gremlin.

"Hey!" she exclaimed angrily as she flew toward the area the trembling stalactites were in. "Hey, listen, you!"

"Who tell Gremlin what do?" Gremlin demanded, poking his head out again.

"I do!" Navi answered, flying closer.

"And who is you? Who is little flying-?" He cut off as she neared him, eyes widening. "Aagh! Gets it away from us! Gets it away!" he cried, throwing one pair of arms up over his face as he scurried away from Navi.

"What?" Navi asked confusedly. "What's that supposed to mean?!" she cried indignantly as she followed him.

"No! Stays away! Stays away!" Gremlin screeched, continuing to make his way away from her. "We no likes the light! It hurts us!"

"The light?" Medli asked.

"Of course!" Link exclaimed. "That's why there's isn't so much light in here!" He extracted his bow and knocked an arrow. After a second the tip began to glow in golden light and Link fired it at Gremlin.

"No!!! The light! It burns!!!" Gremlin screamed. He scampered away toward the center of the ceiling.

"Hit him! Fire again!" Navi cried.

"No! He no hurts Gremlin!" Gremlin shouted, darting into the stalactites again. This time he didn't appear again. "Ooh... smart little boy and ball trick Gremlin into leaving room," he growled forebodingly. "Gremlin see them again and kill boy and ball and birdie girl...!" The stalagmites disappeared from in front of the door and a chest appeared in the center of the room.

"Yes! Way to go, Navi!" Link cheered as Navi returned to him and Medli.

"Who would've guessed he'd be afraid of a little ball of light?" Medli grinned.

"Not me," Navi answered. Link made his way over to the chest and opened it up, revealing its contents to be a rod of some kind.

"What's this?" Link asked.

"You got the Cane of Somaria!" Navi informed him. "One wave of this and you can create a block that won't disappear."

"Nice! This _is _exactly what we need to get through that other door," Medli grinned.

"Excellent. Let's get to it then," Link added, leading the way to the door.

There were three people in Tetra's cabin, each bearing a rather mournful expression. The first was Niko, who sat beside Selphie, watching his one real friend sadly. It felt like forever since she'd lost her soul, though it had only been a few days.

The second was Komali. He was worried about Medli and leaned on the window, gazing across the bay at the forest where he knew she and Link were. Though he knew with her being in Link's company left her in good hands, he couldn't help be concerned.

The third was Tetra. She, in fact, did not know why she felt so down. She sat at her desk, which had since been repaired following Selphie's episode, elbow propped upon its surface holding her chin. Her mind did a lot of wandering and whenever she snapped out of it and tried to remember what she'd been thinking of, she failed.

The other pirates were in town. Zuko was helping Mako get knew glasses from Joseph while Mayor Joshi pulled strings to get new windows and such for Tetra's cabin.

"Hoy there!" Speaking of which... Gonzo walked into the room carrying several replacement windows while Nudge and Senza followed with a new bed frame. "We've got the new windows _and_ a new bed for Miss Tetra!" Gonzo greeted cheerfully, setting the windows on the floor. Nudge and Senza moved over to the corner where Tetra's bed used to be and began to set up the new one.

Niko didn't even acknowledge them, but continued to watch Selphie ruefully. Tetra sighed but didn't look at them. Only Komali turned his head slightly to glance at them but soon returned his gaze to the bay.

"And yours truly can finally see on his own again!" Mako added cheerfully as he and Zuko appeared in the doorway as well, Zuko struggling to carry a bunch of sheets and blankets for Tetra's bed as well as the many futons they'd just received.

This time Tetra lifted her head to look at them, a scowl on her face. "And what took you so long? It's been hours!" she said.

"Well, it's kind of hard to tell, seeing as all the clocks in town have stopped, yah?" Gonzo answered.

"What?" Tetra asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, every clock in town has stopped working," Zuko said.

"I heard someone saying it has something to do with those caves," Nudge added.

"What?!" Tetra and Komali exclaimed.

"When did you hear that?" Gonzo asked skeptically.

"Well, I heard some woman in the bazaar say, 'I hope no one went into those Dusk Caverns,'" Nudge answered.

"I heard it too," Senza agreed.

"Wait! What else did she say about these caverns?" Komali asked worriedly, turning around and taking a few steps toward them, Tetra turning in her chair and Niko in his to listen as well. "If it has something to do with why it's taking so long for morning to come then it can't be good, can it?"

"Well, no," Senza answered. "Of course not. They said something about if someone goes in there dawn won't break until they either make it out of the caves or die trying."

"Apparently, thus far the former has yet to be accomplished," Mako added.

"Are you kidding me?!" Komali outburst as Tetra's eyes widened.

"I think it's a load of malarkey," Gonzo said, rolling his eyes.

"Of course not. Why would we lie about something like that?" Nudge asked.

"Why? What's it have to do with anything?" Zuko asked.

"'What's it have to do with anything?'" Niko repeated. "That's where Rosari was taken."

"That's where Link and Medli went!" Komali replied. "What if dawn breaks and they don't come out?!"

"I can't take this! Come on, Komali!" Tetra exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. She grabbed a lantern from a shelf and made sure her dagger was in her belt.

"Oy! Miss!" Gonzo cried in alarm trying to follow. "What are you doing?!"

"We're going to wait outside these caverns so that we know for sure when Link, Medli, and Rosari get out," Tetra answered as Komali joined her. "You, however, are staying here."

"Oy, but, Miss-!"

"That's an order!" Tetra growled. "As next in command after myself and Link you are required to stay here and take charge! In addition, you are expected to reinstall those windows, help Nudge and Senza if they need it, and make sure Zuko and Mako do the scut work."

"Scut work?!" Zuko cried out. "But, Miss! That's Niko's job!"

"Why are we suddenly in charge of _his_ chores?!" Mako asked.

"Because _he's_ taking care of Selphie and I said so! Now get to work!!!" Tetra shouted dangerously.

Zuko and Mako jumped, "Aye-aye!" Then they rushed past her to the lower level.

"Come on, Komali," Tetra said, turning to him at last and leading him out the door. "Let's go find out where these caves are." Komali nodded and followed her out.

Link, Medli, and Navi had made their way up a staircase and found their selves in yet another large room. This one lacked stalactites on the ceiling, but had a "cage" in the corner made of several thin stalagmite and stalactite columns. There were three floor switches in a row near the center of the room.

"Hey, there's a chest in there," Medli said, pointing through the cage. Link and Navi looked at the chest as well. "Didn't the map say there was a small key in this room?"

"Well, short of looking at the map again, there's only one way to find out," Link said. He walked over to first floor switch and pressed it down. They heard something slide into place. "Okay... Medli step on that one," he instructed, and Medli made her way over to the one on his left, pressing it down: another sound of something sliding into place.

"See if the last one alone will do the job," Navi said. "If not, I have an idea."

"I gotcha," Link said, nodding his head in understanding. He made his way to the third floor switch, and, when it didn't work, took out his new toy. "Now... how do I use this thing?" he asked.

"Just give it a wave," Nave answered, giving a small shrug. Link glanced to Medli and she gave him the same gesture, which he then returned to both comrades. Then, standing next to the floor switch, he gave the Cane of Somaria a large wave.

Link yelped as blocks started to spew from the end of the cane in a row stream. "Yipe!" Medli squealed, flapping her wings and flying over the river of blocks that quickly shot at her, creating a wall of cubes across the room from where Link stood embarrassed, his face white as a sheet and his eyes like saucers.

"Little bit smaller wave..." Navi said softly, flying closer to him. Link nodded slowly. On the plus side, the wall of blocks had effectively covered every one of the switches without anyone having to stand in one place, and several of the thing columns disappeared, creating a doorway to the chest inside the cage. Navi flew inside and hovered around the chest until Link came inside and undid the latch, lifting the lid.

"Hey, cool! I remembered right!" Medli said, grinning as Link removed the small key from the chest. The portcullis over the door out of there disappeared.

"We're on a roll," Link said optimistically. "Let's get across that chasm and get a move on _out of_ this crazy place!"

"Agreed!" Medli and Navi concurred as the three moved to the newly opened door.

Not many minutes thereafter, Medli had flown them across the chasm and landed in the niche with the floor switch. "Remember: little wave," Navi reminded Link.

He rolled his eyes slightly but extracted the Cane of Somaria anyway. Holding his hand steady, Link gave the rod a small wave. A single block appeared on top of the floor switch, and the portcullis disappeared. "Yes!" they cheered as they hurried to get through the door, lest it change its mind and decide not to let them through.

The room they found their selves in was a bit larger and higher-ceilinged than the previous two they had been in, the difference being that it wasn't square, but more trapezoidal. There was one other door on the far wall to their right, but it had a portcullis over it. In addition, there were no floor switches, wall switches, or stalactites that they could see.

"Okay, what's hiding in here now?" Link asked.

"Hiding?" They heard a female voice that seemed to come from all around them and looked around for the source. "Who said anything about hiding?" Suddenly, a young lady appearing not much older than Link and Medli appeared in the center of the room.

"Whoa..." Link muttered, jaw dropping slightly. The chick was- for lack of a better term- _hot_. She showed off her creamily pale curves by wearing tiny black halter-top that cut off just below her breasts, squeezing the melons to the point one would expect juice to squirt forth. ((a/n: much of this description is just to see if I can give my buddy, Pat, a nosebleed XD)) The black skirt she wore was rather low riding and dramatically long, held in place- or maybe just decorated- by a chain of thing steely circles and a slit that went up to maybe an inch or two below her hip, allowing the purple inner lining to be seen. She wore deep violet-colored shoes that laced up almost as high as the slit in her skirt and bore similar laces on her forearms.

Her eyes were a shadowy crimson color, matching well with the dark mahogany bangs that framed her face and the rest of her straight, waist-length hair. Sticking out from the sides of her head were a pair of ears that looked similar to the pointy ones that most people had, but were much larger, almost more alike to a bat's than a human's.

"Slut..." Medli and Navi murmured, rolling their eyes. Link, however, stared transfixed as the young lady made her way toward him, swinging her hips just enough to garter attention.

"My, my, my," she said seductively as she got nearer. "What is such a _handsome_ boy like yourself, doing in a place like _this_?" she breathed, drawing up right next to him.

"I... I was just..." Link stammered, turning deeply red as she massaged his arm lightly in her two hands.

"Mmm..." she purred softly. "Your arm is muscley," she said. "You must be so strong."

"Aheh," Link laughed nervously. "Well, I... I _do_ do a lot of adventuring."

"Link, what the hell are you doing?!" Medli whispered sharply, poking him hard in the other arm.

"Link, huh?" the girl said. "That's _such_ a nice name. It matches well with mine, don'tcha think?" she asked. "Link... and _Sereine_."

"Sereine..." Link repeated. "That's a pretty name."

"We need to get Link away from her!" Navi whispered in Medli's ear. "This girl is bad news! There's all kinds of evil energy surrounding her!"

Medli nodded her head and grabbed Link's free arm, pulling on him. "Come on, lover-boy!" she said. "You need to snap out of it!"

"Ooh," Sereine pouted. "I don't think your girlfriend likes me very much."

"I don't have a girlfriend," Link said. "The only woman I see is you."

"_Link_?!" Medli and Navi exclaimed, Medli's eyes widening as Navi jumped slightly. Sereine chuckled, holding her hand delicately to Link's face and drawing it closer to hers.

"And are you willing to stay here with me for all of time?" she asked softly.

"On and on into eternity," Link answered. Medli's eyes widened further as Navi stared in horror. Sereine chortled once more, moving her face to his ear and whispering.

"That's _precisely_ what I wanted to hear..." she breathed. Link's face took on an extremely goofy grin as Sereine began nibbling on his ear.

"That's it!!!" Medli shouted. Navi had turned an angry shade of red and both her body and Medli's fist flew at Sereine's head at the same time.

"Heeah!!!" Sereine shrieked as she was pushed away from Link.

"Link, wake up already!!!" Medli cried as she took him by the shoulders and shook him.

Navi was at his ear yelling all kinds of, "HEY! LISTEN!"s before she realized his ear was bleeding. "Hey! What happened to his ear?"

"It was rather tasty," Sereine said, moving toward them again. She grinned, and they saw that her teeth were pointed fangs. "Don't you just _love_ my name?" she asked. "It's beautiful, isn't it? And it even has a meaning." She circled around them, a kind of cracking noise emerging as two leathery black wings spread from her back. Like her ears, they resembled those of a bat.

"It means siren," Sereine continued. "_Very_ fitting, considering that's what I am. My song has the power to make men and boys attack the woman they love, _or_, if the woman they love is not present, I can appear at her side as well and attack her myself." She snickered again. "Not to mention, once my male victim is completely entranced, so will his girl." She had gotten around behind Link again and took him by the shoulders. "Let me demonstrate," she said, turning her head slightly to look at them out of the corner of her eye as she moved closer to Link's ear again.

Sereine began humming, and the sound seemed to fill the entire cavernous room. She continued humming, and Medli realized that the pupils were disappearing from Link's eyes, fading slowly into the blue irises. The siren grinned as she realized her spell was working and continued humming. When finally Link's eyes were nothing but blue and white, Sereine wrapped her arms around him and smirked over his shoulder at Medli and Navi. "Now... attack the woman you love..." she whispered in his ear.

Link nodded slowly and walked towards Medli and Navi. "Link! What are you doing?!" Medli cried out. Link continued walking towards her, and when he reached her, he pushed her out of the way, continuing toward the other side of the room.

"_What?!_" Sereine shouted enraged. "Where do you think you're going?!" she demanded of Link. "The woman you love is right here!" she held her arms out at Medli.

"I don't love Medli..." Link said.

"Well, of course, not!" Sereine growled. "Not now that you're under my spell!!!"

"No... what was I thinking..." Medli said.

"What?!" Sereine challenged.

"That's right! Duh! Link never loved Medli! That's Komali's job!" Navi said.

"What are you talking about?!" Sereine shouted.

"Then wait! Is he going after-?" Medli wondered.

"Not going to attack Medli..." Link said as he struggled again the locked door. "Must kill..."

"Oh, gods!" Medli exclaimed, a grin forming on her face.

"Who is she?!" Sereine declared, outraged.

"The one that Link loves," Medli said smugly. "And she's not here for you to attack." Medli smirked over at Sereine, who glared back angrily.

"Rrrr... ragh!!!" she shouted, flapping her wings hard and taking to the air, then diving at Medli, who leapt into the air as well. "Rrggh... a Rito!" Sereine growled. "Fine! Take this!" she shouted, a purple fireball appearing in her hand. "See how you like dark pyro!" Medli yelped and pulled out her harp, deflecting the attack. "Argh! And a sage! What the hell is up with you people?!" She fired fireball after fireball at Medli who continued to defend.

"Navi! How can I possibly defeat this freak?" she asked as Navi joined her. "All I can do is defend!"

"I think I have an idea!" Navi answered. "Go to Link! If you can get into his head with the command melody, then you'll have access to his weapons and be able to get on the offensive!"

"Good idea!" Medli said. "Distract her!" Navi bobbed and took off toward Sereine.

"Hey, you!" she shouted, flying into her large bat-like ear. "AAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

"Aieee!" Sereine screamed as Navi's shriek paralyzed her. Medli took her chance and grabbed Link.

"Link! Listen to me!" she said, holding out her harp. Link didn't look at her, but Medli still put her fingers to the harp and played the command melody. Link froze and looked at her. Suddenly Medli went limp and felt herself leave her body. Not two seconds later, she could see herself from Link's eyes. '_It worked! I'm in Link's... mind... wait, what's..._' Medli quickly felt herself fading out. '_No...! If I'm in Link's mind... I must be in the... trance... too..._' Medli felt herself disappear into the daze as well.

"Get out of there!!!" Sereine shouted at Navi, finally tossing the fairy from her ear.

"Yipe!" Navi squealed as she went flying. She spotted Link and Medli- neither were moving. "Medli!" she shouted, flying closer. "No! Medli must have gotten stuck in the spell as well! Ah!!!" she screamed as Sereine pelted her with a ball of dark pyro. Navi flew into the wall and fell down, her light dimming slightly.

"Hmph," Sereine sniffed, brushing off her arms as she landed again. "Fools... I'll take care of them later..." She smirked as she flipped a lose hair over her shoulder. "For now I'll go after that little girl that he likes while they're _all_ still under my spell." She sniggered slightly, then louder and louder till her laughter filled the whole room. Then she calmed herself down and sighed, grinning. "Off to do some dirty work." Then she disappeared.

****'

Me: Yay! All done! I went a little bit over my general limit on word count. I usually like to keep it between 4500-5000 words, but I went a bit over five thou this time. That whole thing with Sereine, had to get it to a decent stopping point. You'll find out what's going on with her next chap. In the mean time, I would like to tell you all how she came into existence, which is where I give credit to two people.

Thank you to Pat and Nicole, a friend of mine and my little sister. Patrick had the idea of having some uber sexy chick that made Link all googly eyed. O.O It was supposed to be something on the lines of a dark fairy or something, which is kind of what she is.

But then I was talking to Pickle about it, and she said it reminded her of the siren off of Charmed. That's when I got the idea to actually make her a siren. Then I drew a picture of her so I'd know what she would look like. Holy shit, probably one of the best pictures I've ever drawn. I wish I could show you all.

Tingle: Trust me. It's worth seeing.

Me: Oh, great. It has _Tingle's_ endorsement. Now _everyone_ will want to see it.

Tingle: --... slinks off ;;

Me: Anyway... Other person I give credit to- though not nearly as much- is J.R.R. Tolkien. Gremlin is based partly off of Smeegle from LotR, but not solely because I'm not uber fond of the movies or books. Just a little bit of the way he talks.

By the way, the Cane of Somaria is based off the same one from Oracle of Ages and any other game it may have appeared in that I don't know about. I modified it a little bit. Just a smidgle. All of that said, I will now go on to work either on the next chap of ToL or the other story that I started a couple weeks ago. It won't be posted on for a while because it's based on my rp charas and I need to make sure I won't spoil anything for Kearra's story, CotG, before I go ahead and post it. I'm very fond of it though. It's very fluffy.

Okey-day. I'm done. Go on and retreat to your outside lives now. Guess I'll see you next time I post a chapter. Kit & Kir, guys.


	14. Chapter 13

Me: I live!!!!!

Goddesses: (sigh in disappointment)

Me: -.- Anyway… Sorry for the long wait.

Din: Several-

Nayru: Freaging-

Farore: Months.

Me: I know that, dammit! Let's see you write this story and balance two AP classes, a science project-

Din: Which you didn't do.

Me: A Spanish oral assessment, memorizing sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, cosecant, and secant laws-

Nayru: Each of which you just winged.

Me: Putting out a school paper, studying for It's Academic, memorizing The Odd Couple, and now juggling two straight months of The Wiz rehearsals with breaks few and far between.

Farore: You've brought it on yourself.

Me: Shut up… I blame Stalin… Anyway, I'm back now, and that's all that matters. In addition to all that other stuff, I also had writer's block. oo; But, I made incredible progress on More Than Friends (OC story, will post when Kearra's Children of the Gods is finished)

Goddesses: Which includes us!

Me: _And_ slight ToL spoilers… oh, well. Tis a good story. (you're welcome, Kearra, for the advertisement) Thanks to my reviewers: Kearra, again, you're welcome. :P Bvv: I hope this chapter is also worth the wait. Aliasfan: Wishes granted. SilverHikari: Ish glad you're back, and is in the liking of the new penname. Ben: Thank you, I had no idea where that thing came from. Moonstear-3054: Thank you, much. Hope you can catch up soon.

Anyway, I shan't hold you up any longer.

Darunia: Now for disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied.

Tingle: The only charas she does own are Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Rosari, Luis, Sra. Elena, Sereine, and Gremlin.

All: Read on.

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > >> > > > > > > > > > > > > > >> > > > > > > > > > > > >

Chapter 12

Komali and Tetra found their way through Port of Sun- it had actually been a straight shot from the dock down past the playground and out the other side. It wasn't hard to find the path leading into the forest, and they followed it, gently sloping upward. Komali looked over at Tetra and was somewhat surprised at the look of determination on her face.

"…Tetra… I don't quite understand why we're going to wait outside the caverns," he said. "It's not going to get them out any safer."

"Yes, but think of it this way," she said. "If dawn breaks and we're on the ship, we'll have to spend several hours or more waiting for them to get back to find out if they made it out or…" she trailed off. "That time, however long it is, will be filled with ten times more worry. At least here we'll know right away whether or not they've made it." Komali nodded slowly.

"If you say so," he said. They continued walking in silence. "Hey, what's that?" Komali asked, pointing ahead. There was a dark mass in a small clearing ahead.

"That might be it," Tetra said. They quickened their pace a bit as they drew closer. It was a large mass of rocks and there was a black shape where they assumed the mouth would be. "Finally," Tetra said. "Now all we have to do is wait for Link and Medli to get out."

"Right," Komali responded as they stopped in the middle of the clearing. "Well, might as well get comfy," he said, seating himself on a moss-covered boulder. Tetra nodded and sat on the other side. Several minutes were passed in silence.

"Hey, Komali?" Tetra asked.

"Hmm?" he answered.

"How could you let Medli go into those caverns?" she inquired.

"What?"

"I mean," Tetra turned around to look at him. "Aren't you worried something will happen to her?"

"Of course I am," Komali said, turning around too.

"Then why'd you let her go?" Tetra asked. "I mean, Link can handle himself. He doesn't really need anyone's help with this."

"Well, even if he doesn't end up needing Medli's help, sometimes it's just good to know someone is there to help just in case," Komali answered. "And I know Link won't let anything happen to her because if he did the entire Great Sea aerie would be on him like evil on Ganondorf." Tetra smirked slightly. "And besides that, I know Medli can take care of _her_self too. I mean, she _is_ the sage of the earth."

"I guess so… I guess this extended night is just getting to me," Tetra said, each turning around on the boulder again. There was silence once more.

"…Hey, Tetra. Why are _you_ so worried about Link?" Komali asked. No response. "…Tetra?" he turned around, but she sat there stiffly. He reached out his hand tapped her on the shoulder, then shook it. "Are you okay?" he asked, standing up and walking to her front. Her gaze was perfectly unfocused. He waved his hand in front of her face but received no response. "What the…?"

Suddenly, however, he found himself in much the same condition. He could not focus his thoughts and he slowly slipped into a daze.

A few minutes later there was a dark glimmer of shade and when it diminished Sereine stood there in all her shady glory. She looked around and spotted Tetra and Komali, smirking. "What, were they on a double date?" she asked rhetorically, leering amusedly. She walked over slowly, taking measured, deliberate steps.

"Well… I suppose this saves me the trouble of hunting down two different people. I can kill two birds with one stone this way." She reached them and smirked. "Or rather one bird and a pirate." She took Komali's hand in hers and traced a sharp fingernail over the back, drawing blood. She grinned and was about to bite into him when she was thrown back, hitting the dirt hard.

"What the hell?!" she exclaimed angrily. She leapt to her feet and looked around, conjuring a ball of dark pyro. She gasped out as she was knocked back again, this time into a tree at the edge of the clearing. Sereine cried out as she was slammed into the tree again and again until finally she was dropped to the ground. "What… what's… happening?" she gasped, grimacing as she placed one hand to her midsection where several ribs were probably broken. One of her leathery wings hung lankly from her back.

"_You're being punished…_" a voice said from nowhere and everywhere.

"Who's there?" she called out, standing and conjuring another ball of dark pyro.

"_Your master…_" the voice answered. Sereine's eyes widened.

"Master Gom-?" she blurted before she was flown across the clearing and slammed face first into another tree. The right side of her face stung like hell as she fell to the ground, perfectly hunched over.

"_No… I am higher than him… he, like you, is my minion, a pawn,_" the voice answered.

"How dare you…" she grunted, her breathing labored. "I AM NO ONE'S PAWN!" She screamed as she was slammed into the tree again. Komali and Tetra both jolted, eyes snapping back into focus.

"What the…?" Tetra said, looking around.

"What just-?" Komali started.

"_You are my underling and subordinate. You act to my bidding,_" the voice said and caused Komali and Tetra to jump. "_But you are now being punished._"

"Punished for what?!" Sereine demanded, and Tetra and Komali stared over in her direction in confusion, wondering where she came from.

"_For acting in your own interest in a manner that interferes with my own,_" the voice responded.

"I don't give a damn about your best interests," Sereine said, standing up. She flapped her wings painfully and began to disappear, but failed and became visible again. "What the-?" she exclaimed, confusedly.

The voice chuckled. "_Do you think you can escape me?_" it asked. "_You have been seditious and you will be punished._" There were squeaky giggled coming from all sides of the clearing.

"What's that?" Tetra asked. Komali shook his head, but moved closer to her to guard her.

"_Suffer my reprimand._" Miniblins appeared from behind every tree and closed in on Sereine, who had become powerless to defend herself.

"No… NOOOOOO!!!!!" she screamed as the covered her and assaulted. Suddenly there was a burst of darkness from beneath the mass of miniblins and a keese emerged, struggling to remain aloft above the assailants. It flew a few wobbly feet up, at least one of its wings crooked, perverting its flight. Then it burst into a ball of darkness again and disappeared, with a small cry in Sereine's voice. The miniblins retreated into the darkness for the time being, leaving Tetra and Komali to wonder what just happened.

Navi had recovered quickly and, upon realizing both Link and Medli were still entranced, began trying everything in her power to wake them up.

"Hey! Listen! Hey! Listen! Hey! Listen!" she shouted in their faces. She took a deep breath, ready to make one last ditch effort.

Link gasped as though he had been holding his breath for a long time. "Aah!" Navi squealed as she flew back from his face by several feet. A few seconds later, Medli awoke as well, rocking back as though she'd just halted to a stop after running very fast, placing her hand to her chest. They each took a moment to regain their composure before looking around.

"What the hell happened?" Link gasped. "How did I get all the way over here?"

"You mean you don't remember _anything_?" Navi asked, flying over quickly.

"No, what happened?" Link asked.

"Sereine got you under her spell," Navi said. "She tried to get you to kill Medli, but it didn't work. Medli tried to use the command melody to fight, but she got caught in the spell too."

"Sereine!" Link exclaimed suddenly. "Where is she?!" he pulled the sword from his back.

"She disappeared," Navi said. "She was gone when I woke up." Link nodded and replaced his sword.

"And I would certainly like to know why either of us is out of that trance," Medli said, having regained her composure finally. "She wouldn't simply remove it, would she?"

"Maybe it was broken?" Link suggested.

"But how?" Medli asked. The portcullis over the door behind them lifted and made them all jump.

"…Maybe she was killed?" Navi suggested.

"She _did_ mention something about being able to appear where the ones we love are," Medli said. "Maybe she appeared on the pirate ship and they did her in."

"Yeah, I guess that's possible. None of the pirates have anyone they could be put in a trance over… 'cept maybe Niko…" Link said as they stepped through the door into a room with white orchid-like formations on the ceiling.

"Or Tetra…" Medli smirked, glancing at Navi, who returned the grin.

"What?" Link blurted.

"Oh, I guess you don't remember," Navi said, floating around him impishly. "Sereine's spell only works on someone who has feelings for someone else. She originally thought yours were for Medli, but you happened to tell us otherwise."

"W-what?!" Link exclaimed.

"Oh, yes," Medli said. "I do believe your exact words were 'Not going to attack Medli. Must kill-!'"

"Link! Help!"

"_Oink! Oink!_"

A small body nearly collided with Link before he could throw out his arms and catch it. "Luis?" Link said.

An even smaller body launched itself at Medli as she exclaimed in surprise. "The pig?" she said.

And yet smaller bodies charged at the whole group while Navi dove behind them fearfully. "The balls!" she said. Luis moved behind Link as the latter pulled out the deku leaf and fanned it downward. The breeze it created threw the white boes back, causing them to disappear in small clouds of smoke.

Everyone sighed in relief. "Whoo… that was close," Luis said. "Lucky we ran into you just in time, huh?" He looked up to see Link, Medli, and Navi watching him with frowns on their faces. "…Uh… hola?"

"Don't you… 'hola' me- whatever it means," Link said. "What are you doing here, Luis?"

"Uh… well, it's a funny thing," Luis said, smiling nervously as he poked his two pointer fingers together. "I was heading back to Señora Elena's house like you said to, but the cochina here started running back toward the caverns. He looked like he wanted to go in there, but I said, 'No, cochina, we have to go back home like Link told us to.' But the cochina went in anyway. And I would have just left him, but then these huge ugly monsters came out of nowhere! They came after me, but I picked up a stick and I started fighting them, and I would have won and gone home too, but I slipped on a rock and fell back into the mouth of the caverns! I almost stopped myself from plummeting into the darkness, but the pull of gravity increased tenfold! I fell down, down, down!" He looked up and saw the look on Link's face. "Down! Down… down…?"

"You know I'm not buying this, right?" Link asked.

"Right."

"And you undoubtedly know why I told you to stay above ground, right?" Link asked, kneeling and taking Luis' arm, which had a rough abrasion on it.

"Right…"

"And you also know, of course, that as punishment for not listening to me, I have to leave you here, right?" Link asked.

"Righ- what?! Estás bromeando!" Luis exclaimed.

"I'm kidding," Link said, not sure what Luis had just said. Luis sighed in relief. "I'm not going to punish you."

"Gracías…" Luis breathed.

"I cannot guarantee the same for Rosari or Señora Elena," Link added, standing.

"Oh, man!" Luis groaned. Link smirked, helping the boy to his feet. "Either way, we need to get going. I'd like get out of these caverns sooner rather than later."

"Okay," Luis said.

"Let's go," Link said, turning to Medli and Navi. They nodded their heads and started for the door.

"Is your hand okay?" Medli asked Link as they started for the door. The group had left the anthodite room and started down some stairs. They'd crossed a bridge over the same chasm Link, Medli, and Navi had flown over several times already, gone down even more stairs, and finally ended up in the room they were in now. This room contained four chests, three of which were trapped, as Link learned painfully from having opened all three before finally opening the correct trunk and extracting the small key from within.

"I'm just fine," Link said, ceasing to rub his hand finally. The ice and fire in the first two chests gave a whole new meaning to the term "freezer burn." And the bats in the third chest were just plain annoying.

"Should've opened the chest in the corner first," Luis said quietly.

"He's right. You could have avoided a lot of trouble if you'd listened to us," Navi added.

"Enough grief already!" Link exclaimed, using a small key to open the door. The group of five stepped through the door and immediately noticed that the room was dimmer, but not to the point they could not see. It was large and cavernous.

"Why'd it get dark all of a sudden?" Luis asked, looking around. The pig looked around from its place in Medli's arms.

"Some rooms are just darker than others," Medli said.

"Yeah, but it tends to reflect what's in the room," Link stated, stepping forward. They all looked up at the ceiling. It was covered with stalactites. They started into the room, watching the ceiling for movement, but finding none. They reached the opposite wall and found a door. A normal door, made of wood and with a handle.

"Am I the only one that finds this thing a bit out of place?" Medli asked. Link felt around the edges for some anomaly and rubbed the smooth wood.

"I dunno. I think it might just be a normal door," Link said.

"Be careful, Link," Navi warned. "Back in the old days, we came across plenty of fake doors."

"Fake doors?" Link repeated, taking the handle. "What do you mean-?" As he turned the knob the door shook from the wall. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, each person leaping back as the door slammed down from the wall and pounded the ground and then standing back up in place.

"That's what I mean," Navi said.

"Aw… door no smoosh boy afterall…" They all stiffened at the voice.

"Gremlin…" Link muttered, standing and looking at the ceiling again.

"Ooh… smart boy figure out faster than before…" Gremlin's voice came from seemingly every corner of the room.

"Him again," Navi said. Link narrowed his eyes and pulled the bow from his back. Gremlin crawled out from his hiding place and hung upside down from the ceiling with his long claws.

"Hehe, boy think he beat Gremlin again with lighty arrow, boy think wrong!" Gremlin laughed as he pointed one of his four arms at Link. There was a loud squeaking noise as well as the beating of wings as a swarm of keese flew out from among the stalactites. They swooped down at Link.

"Watch out!" Navi exclaimed, but the bats managed to snatch the bow from Link's hands.

"Hey!" Link cried indignantly, trying to grasp it from them again, but the flew away and hovered about the ceiling.

"Hehehe! Now boy no have bow, so no make lighty arrow hurt Gremlin!" Gremlin squealed with glee as he dove back into the stalactites, shaking them above the party.

"Move!" Link shouted as everyone dove out of the way. Gremlin's laughter filled the room as he continued to drop stalactites, following Link as opposed to his comrades.

"Hey!" Navi shouted, flying toward the ceiling in hopes of scaring him herself.

"Hah! Stupid ball no hurts us this time, and real door no opens unless Gremlin leave room again!" He laughed again as Navi tried to follow his movements and get close enough. When she was within reach his tail shot out from the stalactites and slapped her away. She tried several more times, but was finally knocked too hard.

"Yipe!" she squeaked as she plummeted toward the floor. "Link!" He caught her just in time. "It's no use!" she cried as he slipped her into his cap, still dodging falling objects.

"We'll have to get my bow back!" Link replied.

"But how? The murciélagos have it and están altos. Near the ceiling," Luis said. "We'd have to be able to fly! Ojalá que yo tenga alas!" Medli looked down at him and was struck by realization.

"Look out, Luis," she said, spreading her wings. He backed away as she left the ground.

"Yes! Go, Medli! Go!" Luis exclaimed, cochina squealing beside him. Medli flew up toward the ceiling and looked around for the keese. They were flying around erratically and soon turned a corner in the room, flying above some stalagmites growing in a row.

"Come back here," Medli half-called them, following. On the other side of the corner she saw another door, one of the stalagmite doors like in the rest of the dungeon. There was also a pit, which the keese started to fly towards. "No!" she cried, speeding up. She grabbed the bow away just before the bats could drop it. The bats dispersed and Medli flew off to the other side of the room. "Link!" she called, tossing the bow to him.

Link looked up and caught it. He pulled out an arrow and notched it. "Hey, Gremlin!" he called, sliding to a halt and taking aim at the ceiling.

"Smart boy call Gremlin?" Gremlin wondered aloud, coming out from the stalactites again. "Why calls Gremlin, smart boy?"

"This is why!" Link shouted, shooting a light arrow at Gremlin.

"Aaaah!" Gremlin screeched, shielding his face with one set of arms as he scurried back into his hiding place. They heard a portcullis raise and then Gremlin's voice again. "Grr…! Smart boy and birdie girl tricks Gremlin again! No fairs! No fairs! Gremlin get revenge, Gremlin will! They just waits! No makes fools of Gremlin!" His voice faded again.

The group assembled again near the center of the room. "Thanks, Medli," Link said.

"No problem. Thank Luis for giving me the idea though," she said.

"See? Maybe it's not such a bad thing that I fell into the caverns afterall!" Luis grinned.

One wizrobe battle, after which they got the boss key, one puzzle, involving hitting ten stalactites and stalagmites in precisely the correct order, two rooms of reprieve, containing fairies, hearts, and rupees, and fifty-one stairs, every one of which Luis counted, Link, Medli, Navi, Luis, and the cochina reached a door with a large lock on it.

"I guess we can assume this is the boss chamber," Navi said.

"Right," Link said. He took out the boss key and unlocked the massive door. Then they all stepped through.

"Luis? Link? Medli?" They looked around and saw the source of the voice. It came from the corner on the right, which was blocked off by bars, creating a large cage.

"Rosari!" Luis exclaimed, running toward the door of said cage and looking inside at his cousin. Medli and the pig followed and Medli opened the door. Link remained near the door looking around. Luis led the way inside the cage and threw his arms around Rosari. "Ay! Prima! Estás bien!" he cried.

"Luis? Link? Medli?" Rosari repeated.

"Huh?" Medli said, stepping over.

"Luis? Link? Medli?" Rosari repeated again.

"Prima?" Luis asked.

"Something's not right there," Link stated, watching them.

"Luis? Link? Medli?" Rosari repeated once more. Suddenly she burst into a ball of darkness.

"Ack!" Luis exclaimed, letting go. The darkness faded and a bat was left flapping in the cage with them.

"It's a trap!" Navi called, but it was too late. The door slammed closed, trapping Medli, Luis, and la cochina in the cell.

"Heh heh heh…" someone chuckled, its echoes filling the whole room. Link drew his sword and looked around warily. "Did you really think you could save the girl that easily?" came a scratchy voice, deep, yet comparable to a squeak of a swarm of keese.

"Show yourself," Link directed. The voice chuckled again.

"As you wish." A dark shape appeared in the middle of the room, head bowed. "My name is Gomess," it said. "I am the scythe warrior of the caverns," he added as a long pole with a huge curved blade on the end appeared in his hands.

"You won't be for long if you don't let my friends go," Link said, holding out his sword toward Gomess. Gomess chortled. "What's so funny?"

"You are," Gomess replied, turning up his head at last, revealing a pair of tiny yellow eyes. His jaw seemed to be nonexistent, for when he opened his mouth the hole reached down nearly to his chest. "You think you can intimidate me with your tiny blade. You shall soon find that your threats are empty as soon will be your very veins." Link grit his teeth and charged at Gomess, sword up. Gomess' mouth split into a smirk. "Fool." There was a loud squeaking noise as hundreds of keese swept down from the ceiling.

"What the hell?" Link said as he halted a couple yards away. The keese had surrounded Gomess and covered his body like a cloak. "Big deal, so you've got a bat-skin coat. I'll just hack right through it!" Link exclaimed as he drove forward and swung his sword at Gomess.

Suddenly, the bats changed colors. "What?!" Link cried as each keese turned bright red, glowing with flames. He was too slow and cut into the fire keese, crying out as his sleeve caught fire. He leapt away and extinguished the flame. "You dirty- whoa!" he shouted as the huge blade of the scythe came swinging at him. Link raised his shield just in time to block the attack, back flipping to a safer distance.

"Hey! Link, you'll never get in an attack with all those keese around him!" Navi said.

"I know that, but how do I get rid of them?" Link asked.

"Well, think of something that contrasts to fire," Navi said.

"Uh… water? Ice?" His eyes lit up. "Ice!" he exclaimed, drawing out his bow. He dodged another attack from Gomess as he notched an arrow, powering it with ice. He took aim and released it, hitting Gomess.

"No!" the scythe warrior exclaimed as his keese dispersed. Link saw his opportunity and ran forward, slicing at him with his sword until Gomess swiped at him with the bare end of the pole and the keese returned.

"You'll not get a second opportunity," Gomess declared. Link got ready to shoot another ice arrow, but the bats turned blue this time.

"Ice keese," Navi said. "Use fire arrows this time!" Link nodded, dropping the arrow he currently had and charging a fire arrow. Gomess charged toward him, swinging his scythe in wide arcs. Link released the arrow, and hit him, scattering the bats once more. Then he ran forward and sliced Gomess with his sword some more until the latter knocked him with the pole again.

"You're doing great!" Navi said.

"There doesn't seem to be much to this guy," Link replied. Like so many things he had encountered before, he had the feeling that Gomess was luring him into a false sense of security.

The keese returned to Gomess once again. This time they didn't change color, but they did begin to glow purple. "What's that supposed to be?" Link asked.

"I've never seen anything like it!" Navi exclaimed. "These keese emanate darkness!"

"Dark keese?" Link said. Navi bobbed. "Well, the opposite of dark is light." He drew another arrow and charged it with light. When he'd taken aim, he released the arrow at Gomess, causing the bats to disperse once more, leaving Gomess open to Link's attacks. Gomess knocked Link away and leapt back, taking a knee and breathing heavily.

"Yeah, Link!" Medli and company cheered from their entrapment.

"Game over?" Link asked, walking over to hold his sword over his foe, ready to strike if he stood again. Gomess took a deep breath and then chuckled amusedly. "What's so funny this time?"

"Heh heh… you and that sword, hero," Gomess breathed. "You still think your tiny blade can fell me." Link was about to swing down his sword when the keese gathered one last time. He backed off to avoid the bats, and Gomess stood up again, holding out his blade. "My scythe has far more power, and it allows me to harness the keese for my battle. Your sword has nothing special whatsoever."

Link sighed. '_Are you trying to compensate for something…?_' he thought. "I don't care about all that. I've taken on much more fearsome foes than you, and with this sword." He took out his bow once more, notching an arrow. "Now get those bats to change colors so that I can finish you off."

Gomess chuckled. "As you wish…" Several of the bats glowed red again, so Link charged the arrow with ice. Then, suddenly, more of the bats changed colors, only to blue, and then to purple.

"What the-?!" Link exclaimed as he let go of the arrow on accident. It flew at Gomess and made contact.

"Haha!" Gomess laughed. The fire keese dispersed, but the ice keese were enraged apparently and took after Link.

"Watch out!" Navi cried. Link cried out as the keese surrounded him. He swiped at them with his sword but made very little progress. He finally made a little headway, but Navi yelled, "Shield!"

"Huh?" he blurted, looking just in time to see Gomess' scythe and raise his shield in surprise. Gomess swung several times before Link could back flip away. "All right… lets see if this helps," he said, getting clear of the keese as they all returned to Gomess again and formed a red, blue, and purple cloak. He charged up a light arrow. "He doesn't have any light keese, so this shouldn't aggravate anyone," he said, releasing the arrow. As expected, the dark keese flew away. As unexpected, the fire and ice keese now swarmed him. "No!"

"It seems light arrows irritate anything but dark keese," Navi informed. Link didn't reply, but tried to defend himself from the onslaught of bats. "Shield!" Link raised his shield again, defending against Gomess' scythe again but coming to an unfortunate conclusion as his back hit the wall, keese scattering again.

Link had backed himself into a corner… again. "Oh, gods…" he breathed.

"Your puny blade is no match for my scythe!" Gomess shouted victoriously, raising his sickle over Link's head.

"Link! No!" Luis cried.

"This can't happen!" Medli exclaimed.

"_Oink-oink-oink!_" the pig squealed.

"What the…?" Medli wondered aloud, looking around the cage but not finding the pig.

"Look!" Luis exclaimed, pointing through the bars. The pig was sprinting at Gomess and Link.

"Perish-!" Gomess shouted. The pig launched itself at Gomess, catching him in the side. "What?!" Gomess exclaimed, being thrown off balance just long enough for Link to duck out of the corner.

"Yay, cochina!" Luis shouted as Medli clapped her hands excitedly. The pig had a hold on Gomess with its teeth and Gomess was doing what he could to shake the pig off. Link meanwhile had pulled out his bow and drew back three arrows.

"Link, what are you doing?" Navi asked, floating near him.

"Since I can't fire any one type of arrow without making those bats made at me," he said. He narrowed his eyes, concentrating hard. Suddenly, the heads of the arrows each glowed, one red, one blue, and one yellow.

"Whoa!" Navi exclaimed.

"I'm going to try all three!" he yelled as Gomess finally tossed off the pig and was about to chop it with the scythe. "Gomess!" The scythe warrior looked up just in time for his eyes to widen at the sight of the projectiles.

"What?!" he yelled. His eyes widened more when he saw the arrows fuse together, giving off a whole spectrum of colors. "NO!" he screamed, throwing up his arms. The new arrow hit, causing all of the bats to leave again.

"Fall!" Link shouted, leaping out of nowhere and bringing his sword down on Gomess.

The warrior was pinned in place. The scythe fell from his hand to the ground as the door to Medli and Luis' prison opened, allowing the two to rush out to Link's side. "This cannot be…" Gomess gasped. "I have the superior weapon…" He threw up his arms. "I cannot fail…!" He cut off, eyes widening. His arm was moving toward the scythe again. His hand grasped the handle.

"Don't make him do any-," Navi started, but stopped as she heard the sounds that Gomess' scythe handle was making as he ground it against the floor. _A… B… _

"Navi?" Link asked. The three humans looked toward her.

"Get the scythe!" Navi exclaimed, flying at the scythe and trying to take it away from Gomess. _A… F… _

"Navi, what are you doing?!" Link asked.

"No! Listen to her! Take the scythe!" Gomess pleaded, scratching another note, his movements not his own._ A…_

"It's the song!" Navi cried.

"Don't let him finish it!" Gomess beseeched, his movements not his own. _D…_ "Master, let me rest in peace…!" _B…_

"No!" Navi exclaimed. Gomess' eyes widened much farther, gasping loudly. His wide mouth slackened but didn't close, eyelids relaxed.

"What in the world?" Medli asked. Finally the scythe fell, clattering to the floor.

"Navi, what was that?" Link asked.

Navi drooped in disappointment. "That… was the elegy of emptiness taking another soul to Ikana…" she said.

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > >> > > > > > > > > > > > > > >> > > > > > > > > > > > >

Me: Woohoo! Yay chappie! Meh no have much to say about how this chapter culminated. I just kind of thought of everything the last couple weeks. Tis weird. But I won't promise a quick update. Like I said before, I'm very busy with the school work and stuff. Also, it's cookie time again! m/ (ish loves to sell the cookies) Not to mention, as I mentioned, I've got rehearsal for The Wiz almost every day until March 12. I have to learn all my own lines, all the choreography, and practice "No Bad News," for your very own Selphie Louise is going to play Evilline: the Wicked Witch of the West! Muwahahahahaha!!!!

I've even got the evil laugh down and everything. O.o

Tingle: She's going to pretend the Lord High Underling is me when she's up on stage making him smell her foot…

Me: I figured it's good motivation. Anyway, I must be going now. Hope you enjoyed the chappie. Kit & kir, y'all.

(sings) _You can bring it in your head or in something you **can't** lose. Cuz don't nobody bring me no bad news._


	15. Chapter 14

Me: Wow! Look at this! I've updated again.

Din: Your parents are gonna kill you when they see your report card.

Nayru: And if you're working on this story all the time when you should be doing homework, then you'll be resurrected and killed again next report card too.

Me: FYI, I happen to have finished all my homework tonight, thank you very much.

Farore: Wait, for real? Even after Girl Scouts and Drama and Math Team?

Me: Minus math team, thank you for reminding me…

Din and Nayru: (glare at Farore)

Farore: What! What did I say?

Din: Matt made her stay and dance, remember?

Nayru: She didn't get to go to Math Team.

Farore: …Oh…

Me: It's okay… just forget about it… Lemme thank the reviewers and get on with the story.

Din and Nayru: (smack Farore)

Farore: I'm sorry! Lemme alone!

Me: She's fine. Just lemme get on with this.

Din: Fine.

Nayru: Okay.

Me: Thanks to all those who reviewed- it seems like I'm getting more of you! Ri2: Yes, poor Gomess. You'll see this chapter. Bvv: Your wish is my command. And yes, boys are stupid. I should post my autobiographical essay for you guys to read and find out just how stupid. If you like Annie Dillard you'll like it. If you have Ms. Sanders who obsesses over Dillard, then that statement would probably turn you off before you read the title. Kearra: Sorry about your game and all… but if you ever curse another Garo I won't let you try a corndog muffin! Don't forget, if it weren't for the ninja clan of Ikana, we wouldn't have Iggy and Jiji, not to mention the triplets, and then Koryu wouldn't have a fiancée to die of a cause as yet undetermined, causing him to fall into a deep depression and die himself. I have to write that story as soon as I'm done with MTF… Aliasfan: W00t to the West Side Storyness. If we had our choice, we, the students, would pick West Side Story or Grease for next year's play, right after Chicago that is. I'm quite glad we don't have to go through the things Link is going through, but writing this story I sometimes feel his fatigue… tiredness… Last, but not least- darknessbounty: Eh… maybe, maybe not. Read to confirm or deconfirm this sneaking suspicion you have.

Darunia: W00t to the disclaimerness! Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied.

Tingle: The only characters she does own are Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Luis, Rosari, Sra. Elena, Sereine, and Gremlin. There's another OC in this chapter, but she doesn't own him either.

Darunia: We'll attribute his ownership to the proper proprietor at the end of the chapter.

Tingle: Yay alliteration!

Darunia: (grins)

Me: Read on, guys.

* * *

Chapter 13

_Selphie sat beneath the table, watching between the legs of the chairs as the four villains congregated at the other side of the room. Sakon had pretty much left her alone since the "event." He had approached to harass her several times, but she had stared at him coldly, solemnly retreating to the other side of the room, not saying anything. After a few remarks, it can be supposed that he decided he wasn't going to get any more fun out of her for a little while. Or perhaps he had a separate agenda…_

_In any event, he and his comrades were busy. Their current activity was watching the battle between Gomess and Link. Their subordinate was losing rather badly, and it could be said that Sakon was less than pleased. The four watched as Link pinned Gomess in place with his sword. Sakon growled in the back of his throat. Dimitra sighed in a rather exasperated tone. Mace and Curt each rolled their eyes. "Enough of this," Sakon grumbled._

"_We can put zis aliboron to better use," Dimitra agreed. Sakon, who was in possession of the sash, waved his hand. In the Dusk Caverns, Gomess lost control of his body as Sakon forced him to scratch the Elegy of Emptiness into the cave floor._

"_That idiot is about to blow our cover!" Curt exclaimed as Gomess did their bidding._

"_One of the reasons we're bringing him here," Dimitra rolled her eyes. When the final B was scraped, there was a slight glow of light in the center of the chamber. Selphie watched the four souls congregate around the glow, forming a circle around it. Finally it disappeared and a black mass was dropped to the floor, gasping for air._

_Gomess knelt there, hunched over and wheezing until he finally recomposed himself. Then he lifted his head and looked around to see where he was and exclaimed, nearly jumping from his skin, when he saw the four souls standing around him glaring down. "My lord," he said when he saw Sakon, bowing again. Sakon sniffed._

"_Did I say you could speak, you devious wretch?" Sakon asked._

"_But, lord!" Gomess pleaded._

"_Silence!" Dimitra demanded, shocking him with a bolt of electricity. Gomess cried out and then bowed his head very low._

"_I am sorry!" he apologized. "The hero got the better of me, but if you send me back-!"_

"_Send you back?" Mace repeated. "Kid, there is no way to send you back."_

"_Once your soul is trapped here, you can't just be sent back. You have to be rescued," Curt added._

"_Zat iz zee reazon we enlisted you to destroy zee héros," Dimitra put in. "Wiss him in zee way, collecting all of zee people we need to get us out of here, _our_ savior cannot come to us. We needed _you_ to take care of Link."_

"_But you didn't," Sakon said. "And so, we find ourselves in the thorny ponderings of how to punish your failure. You are a bit more tough than your little shape-shifter."_

"_But- but I can still be useful! Please, just give me something else to do!" Gomess begged._

_Sakon massaged his chin between his thumb and forefinger pensively. "Well… perhaps we can spare your soul afterall," he said. Gomess sighed in relief as Sakon looked around at each of his peers. Dimitra nodded sagely while Mace and Curt's heads bobbed eagerly. Sakon reached out his hand toward Gomess. Gomess waited for some new task to complete when suddenly a beam of energy shot out of Sakon's palm, striking the scythe warrior squarely in the forehead._

"_Augh!" he screamed in pain. "Master! No!" Gomess soon seemed to be dragged into this beam and sucked through, like a straw, into Sakon. When Gomess had disappeared, so did the beam, and Sakon flexed his hand as he examined his palm._

"_So… how do you know if it worked?" Curt asked, moving over and looking at Sakon's hand. Sakon rolled his eyes and turned to the table, looking at Selphie. She looked right back._

'What's he planning?_' Selphie wondered suspiciously, worriedly. Hadn't he done enough to her in the last seventy-two hours? Sakon gave a slight laugh and smirk. Then he waved his hand and the table over Selphie turned into a bat and flew off toward the ceiling. Selphie's eyes widened as Mace and Curt uttered their 'whoa's. Sakon grinned and waved his hand again, causing the bat to turn back into a table and gravity to take over. Selphie let out a squeal and curled up, covering her head for protection as the table fell down over top of her. Mace and Curt cracked up laughing as Sakon relished in his joke._

"_I suppose that means it works," Sakon said. Selphie crawled up from beneath the table and leaned on the top. "Did you have a nice fall?" Sakon teased. Dimitra frowned at her, scorning._

_Selphie glared around at them momentarily. "I suppose each and every one of you has complete mastery over the forces of nature then?" she spat._

"_Of course. That's what magic does, darling," Sakon replied, creating a fireball to show off. The boys snickered behind him._

_Selphie forced a slight smirk. "Well, in that case, you must be simply executing a complicated escape plan for the fun of it, being as your complete mastery of physics would allow you to escape with incredibly ease," she responded. Sakon's smirk disappeared, as did his fireball and Mace and Curt's laughter. Selphie smirked at each of them and noticed that Dimitra had a very small, very wry smile on her face._

_Sakon turned away with the sash and sniffed. "You said it, not me, darling," he said. "We need to talk to that mage again," Sakon added to his comrades. The other three nodded and gathered around, disregarding Selphie's presence once more. Selphie shook her head, feeling she had regained some small semblance of pride again, and crawled under the table again, laying down and staring at its underside this time._

"_Mage… I know you can hear me," Sakon said. "So listen good…"_

_They waited a moment. "Hiya, Sakon," returned a rather chipper voice. "What's the occasion? I wasn't expecting you again until it was time for your escape."_

"_Indeed," Sakon replied impatiently._

"_Oh! My troops are already preparing to set out," the voice said. "My end of the bargain will be fulfilled in a matter of hours."_

"_Actually, Ravick, that is why we're having this little conversation," Sakon said. "I need your troops to set out now."_

"_Now!" Ravick exclaimed._

"_Now," Sakon repeated._

"_But, sir, we haven't had nearly enough time to prepare and collect ourselves," Ravick said._

"_You're dead! How long can it possibly take?" Curt asked._

"_Well, it's not as though we're all in prime condition," Ravick responded._

"_I don't care," Sakon said. "Circumstances have changed, and we need to speed up this operation."_

"_But, sir-!"_

"_Lizzen, you!" Dimitra cut in. "If you and your troopz do not set out in zee next five minutez, you can say 'au'revoire' to your new life. Not to mention zee temporarily restored life you currently pozess will quickly have even more temporary pozession of its temporarily restored 'equipment.'"_

_There was no response. "Yo, Ravick?" Mace said._

"_Oh! Oh, is that you, Mace? I wasn't expecting you again until it was time for your escape," Ravick exclaimed. "Sorry, you caught me at a bad time. The troops are just leaving. I can't talk right now."_

"_And don't forget to cover your trail when you're done. Leave no witnesses or any trace by which you can be followed."_

"_Right, got it. Gotta go, bye!" Ravick responded quickly. Then he was gone. Each of the souls sighed exasperatedly as Sakon terminated the spell and crossed the room, lying down on the bed._

"_On the plus side, they're on their way, so we're that much closer to escaping," Mace said. Sakon glanced at him out of the corner of his eye but then closed them so he could nap. Dimitra teleported herself to the table and sat down._

_Curt walked over, "That was a good bluff back there, Dimitra."_

"_What bluff?" she asked, reaching her arms behind her back and using them to support herself._

"_When you threatened to take away his manhood, but as a guy, I have to say, don't kid about those kinds of things."_

_She chuckled slightly. "Who's joking?"_

"What do you mean by the Elegy of Emptiness taking a soul to Ikana?" Link asked. Suddenly they heard a portcullis raise and looked to the source of the sound to see part of the northern wall disappearing, bars emerging in their place.

"Prima!" Luis exclaimed, running to the bars when he saw Rosari behind them.

"Luis! What are you doing here?" Rosari asked.

"Cochina came into the caverns-," Luis started.

"La verdad, Luis," Rosari said warningly.

"…_I_ followed Link and Medli in here," Luis said. Rosari looked over through the bars and saw Link, Medli, and Navi walking over.

"Did you guys come to rescue me?" she asked.

"Yup," Link replied, as he and the other two joined Luis. "We couldn't very well leave you here for bat fodder." Medli walked over to the cell door and opened it, allowing Rosari to step out.

"Muchas gracias," Rosari said.

"Denada," Navi said.

"Now, let's get out of this creepy place!" Rosari added. Link nodded his head and the group started toward the door at the other end of the chamber. Link jiggled the jewel and they all stepped through. On the other side of the door was a staircase. And sitting several steps above them was none other than…

"Gremlin!" Link called out. Gremlin jumped when he heard the voice. He looked up and, seeing Link, gasped, jumping to his feet.

"Boy come out of Master Gomess' room alive!" he exclaimed. "And with red-head lady too? Why has you let them goes, Master Gomess?" he wondered aloud taking hold of the wall and climbing up a few feet.

"Your master is dead," Medli informed him as the pig leapt into her arms. "Link killed him."

"What!" Gremlin gasped. He turned himself upside down and hung with his feet as his top set of hands clapped to the side of his face. "No! Master Gomess cannot be deads! You lies!" he pointed another hand accusingly at Medli. "I proves it!" He scurried up the wall and disappeared into the stalagmites and, presumably, a hidden exit among them.

"Well, hopefully we won't have to deal with him again any time soon," Medli said.

"If ever," Link agreed, pulling out the map. Navi flew over to light it for him and he examined it for a minute. "We're in luck. These are some long and curvy stairs, but at the top is the exit to the caverns."

"Good," Rosari said.

"Let's go," Navi concurred. The group then started the long climb upwards. It seemed to go on for hours.

"Are we almost there?" Luis asked. "My feet are getting tired." Link looked down at the map.

"We're about two-thirds of the way there," Link said. "Just keep moving," he added, although his feet were also starting to ache. Luis nodded sleepily and yawned. It struck Link that they must have been in there for hours, hours that should have been dedicated to sleep and yawned himself. Rosari tapped Luis on the shoulder and turned around for him to climb onto her back. He nodded and wrapped his arms around her neck and his legs around her middle, and she stood up, carrying him piggyback.

"Don't worry, guys," Link tried to up their morale. "We'll be out of here soon."

"No… you won'ts!" came the telltale hiss. They jumped as they turned around and looked up to the ceiling where Gremlin hung familiarly by his clawed extremities. However, this time there was fire burning his in eyes and he wheezed angrily. His claws seemed much sharper and his fangs were bared dangerously. "You kills Master Gomess!" he charged. "You kills Gremlin master!"

"Do you have a problem with that?" Link replied coolly. Gremlin growled loudly, pounding on the ceiling, causing a vibration that felled a stalagmite right over Link. "Whoa!" Link cried out, jumping out of the way.

"You is pays for what has did!" Gremlin declared. He swung his pointed tail at the ceiling and made a stalagmite fall over Rosari and Luis.

"Look out!" Medli exclaimed, pulling them out of the way.

"Your master was evil!" Navi argued, flying toward Gremlin.

"Not evil!" Gremlin retorted, whipping his tail at her. Navi was struck and let out a small squeal as she was thrown to the wall. Link caught her and stuck her in his hat. "Master great leader! He help all cavern peoples! Now you kill him, no one are left guide us!"

"We don't care," Link replied. "You're all evil. You'd be better off dead anyway."

"No says that!" Gremlin shrieked, dropping another stalagmite on Link, who dodged toward the wall. Gremlin roared in anger, and, quicker than Link could react, Gremlin had dashed down the wall and, clinging to it with his legs, grabbed Link by the collar with two of his hands and held him close to his face. "You thinks just because we lives in dark we is evil. Just because we is dark does not mean we is evil."

"You attacked us!" Link said. "That sounds evil to me!"

"We no attack! We protect!" Gremlin snapped, pounding his chest with one of his free hands. "We is drived here by outsiders. You outsiders comes to caverns, we thinks you is wants hurt us again! We no is wants get hurt. Then you tries kills us. You is evil one! All we is do is defends ourselfs."

"Then why did you kidnap Rosari?" Link charged.

"To gets outside agains!" Gremlin returned. "We longs for outsides, but we is scareded! Missy Sereine go outside, people kills her. Master Gomess stays inside, people comes kill him. Gremlin is trapped here hundreds years! Strange man voice tell us we kidnap girl he help us gets out again. We be frees!"

"Wait, strange man…?" Link asked. "What strange man is this?"

"The strange man voice that speak to Master Gomess one day," Gremlin answered, releasing Link and crawling up the wall again. "Master Gomess is sits in room one days, minding own busy-ness, when man voice talk to him. He tell Master Gomess he know how gets us out caverns. Tells Master Gomess he have first help him get outs his prison.

"Master Gomess no trust strange man, but he think of us, stucks here forevers, and he is tells strange man we helps. Strange man tells him we has kidnap girl, keeses goes out, kidnaps girl. He warn us you is evil, will hurts us. He right, and now you is kills only one ever takes care us."

"We wouldn't have come here at all if you hadn't kidnapped Rosari," Link countered. "Didn't you think there was something suspicious about his request? How could kidnapping Rosari help him get out of his prison? Did he even bother telling you where his prison was?"

"All he is says is he comes free us once he escape Ikanas," Gremlin said.

"Ikana!" Navi exclaimed from inside Link's cap.

"Yes, Ikanas," Gremlin said. "Is place long ways away. We is at top of mountain, so we is not receive much information. Gremlin no hear anything many years, but heard they is falls."

"You don't know then?" Navi asked.

"Know? Knows what?" Gremlin asked.

"You're not on a mountain anymore. There was a flood. Most of the world is ocean."

"A flood, you says?" Gremlin asked. He hummed in thought, pacing back and forth across the wall. "Then how strange man be in Ikanas? …We knews something weird about strange man. Gremlin think he know voice. Is sounds like man who try steal things from Gremlin home when Gremlin no live in cavern. Is steal many things from many peoples."

"…Sakon?" Navi asked after a short period of thought.

"Yes! Is Sakon! Gremlin thinks is Sakon kiddy," Gremlin said.

"How would you know what he sounds like?" Medli asked. "I thought he only spoke to your master."

"Ehm… Gremlin is listens outside Master's room one day," Gremlin admitted guiltily. "Is no listens long. Is no wants betray Master's trust, but is hears enough recognize voice."

"It's true there used to be a family line of thieves by the name of Sakon," Navi said after a bit of thought. "But the only one ever caught was one of the first born in Ikana, one by the name of Roberto." Suddenly Navi leapt out of Link's hat. "Roberto Sakon!" she exclaimed flying all over the place.

"Isn't that the one you said was used to make the Elegy of Emptiness?" Link asked.

"Yes, it is! That means his soul is still in Ikana!" Navi cried.

"How can he break out of Ikana? And how could he possibly affect the surface world?" Medli asked.

"I don't know, but it explains why he wants to get all of the descendants before us," Link replied. "If there was a way for him to get out it was to collect the descendants. What I don't understand is what he would do once he got out. Not to mention, if he wants out, then why not let us do all the dirty work of gathering everyone and then following us out?"

"There must be some benefit to getting out at a different time than us," Navi put. She turned to Gremlin. "Did he mention anything about that?"

Gremlin growled, narrowing his eyes. "No, no, no. Gremlin see what ball try do. Ball try make Gremlin forget boy is kill Master Gomess, is reason Missy Sereine go outside die," Gremlin said.

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Navi asked.

"Of course Gremlin pay 'tention," Gremlin said. "What that has do with anything?"

"Sakon is behind every bit of this," Link explained. "He tricked your master and your friends into doing his dirty work and led us here. Sereine may have gone outside to attack our friends, but it wasn't we who killed her. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if that was Sakon's doing as well."

"And Link didn't actually kill your master," Medli put in. "Gomess' body might still be alive right now, but someone forced him to play a song that took away his soul, most likely also Sakon's work."

Gremlin gasped. "Still alives? Master Gomess might still lives?" he asked.

"Well, I doubt if his wound will heal if he doesn't have a soul to will it to," Link said. "But the only way to remedy that would be to continue gathering the people like Rosari and going to retrieve our friend's soul."

"You friend? You friend is in place with Master Gomess?" Gremlin asked. Link and Medli nodded. Gremlin growled in frustration. "Is losted!" he howled, holding two hands to his head. They watched him in anticipation for a moment before Gremlin went back to the stalagmites and disappeared.

After a moment of silence, waiting for any word from the creature, Link finally sighed. "Maybe he _is_ just upset over his master's death," he said. "We should leave him be." The group began their ascent once more, this time not stopping until they reached the surface at last.

"Look!" Luis called from Rosari's back. He pointed ahead of them to a dim light.

"It must be the exit," Medli said.

"We've made it out at last!" Rosari added. They continued up the stairs, at a quicker pace now that they saw their destination. The light grew brighter and brighter as they neared it. Finally, Link set the first foot on ground outside the caverns and breathed the fresh air.

"Link!" He turned and saw Tetra and Komali rush over. "Medli!" Komali called when she emerged behind Link.

"Komali!" she exclaimed, dropping the pig and rushing over into his arms.

"You guys are okay!" Tetra sighed in relief when Rosari and Luis came out at last.

"Yes, we certainly are," Link replied, breathing the clean air in big gulps.

"We began to worry when that bat girl was killed," Tetra said.

"Sereine?" Link asked quizzically.

"I guess. Komali and I kind of slipped into a trance or something, and when we woke up, someone was setting a pack of miniblins on her," Tetra explained. "She turned into a bat and died."

Link sighed. "No wonder the others are so scared to go outside…" he said, referring to Gremlin and the other inhabitants of the caverns, feeling sympathetic to their plight.

Gremlin crawled down from the ceiling in Gomess' chamber. He made his way slowly down the wall, trying to be respectful of his master, whether he was alive or dead. "No… master is dead. Boy and ball is no trustworthies. They is just wants to get rids of Gremlin and trick him into thinking master might live." He told himself this, but deep down, he prayed that Gomess would still be alive and have a chance to live.

When he neared the ground, Gremlin released the wall, dropping lightly to the stone floor. He sidled across the room to where Gomess lay on the floor, mouth agape, eyelids loose, scythe resting next to his hand. '_Did he really kill you, Master?_' Gremlin thought, choosing not to speak in this place where his master died, supposedly. He watched the body for a moment, debating. Finally he took a few hesitant steps forward and knelt next to Gomess.

Cautiously reaching out one of his hands, he placed two fingers on Gomess' neck and felt for a pulse. There was none. He took the limp wrist and checked there as well. Still nothing. And Gomess' skin was oddly cold, even for one who lived so long in darkness. Gremlin narrowed his eyes. '_The boy lied! Master is dead._' He stood up and lowered his head. Though he was angry at Link for lying to him, he was even more upset that his master's death was a definite. '_We will give master a special burial._'

Gremlin was just about to walk to the wall and leave the room, when he looked back at Gomess one last time. '_Something isn't right about Master,_' he thought. He stepped closer again and scrutinized the body before him. His eyes lingered on the chest where there was a large wound where Link's sword had been. '_There is no blood…_' Gremlin realized. He stooped down and inspected the wound. The sword had clearly stabbed cleanly through the pelvic region, and yet there was no blood pooling beneath Gomess' body.

Gremlin looked around and asked Gomess' forgiveness before rolling the body over and examining the wound from the back. Feeling as though he were violating his master's memory by doing so, Gremlin checked to see if Gomess' excretions had come out, relieved, but puzzled, to find none. He held the wound open with his fingers. '_Master did not bleed one bit… maybe…_' He replaced the body as it had been before and felt the pulse once more.

'_Master's body is still alive. He didn't lose any blood, so he cannot have died. But he does not respond to anything. He lacks a spirit,_' Gremlin thought as he stood up again and crossed the room to the wall, placing one clawed hand against the side '_Could the boy have really told the truth? Did the strange man, Sakon, really betray Master and take his soul…?_'

Gremlin's claws dug into the stone in frustration at his confusion and he let out a long growl and threw two hands to his head, pressing against the sides. '_I am so lost! I do not know whom to believe! The boy says that Master Gomess is not dead, that Sakon stole his soul. But the boy tried to kill my friends and me,_' he thought. '_But all he wanted to do was save the redhead lady because we kidnapped her. We would not have kidnapped her if Sakon had not promised us freedom in the first place. Was it right of us to kidnap her for our own freedom? We did not want to hurt her… but kidnapping is wrong. Master Gomess knew that, but the others would not have understood. They would want freedom no matter what the cost…_' Gremlin looked up as realization hit him.

'_And it was Sakon who shared this with Master Gomess… he tricked us! He tricked us into doing his dirty work, into attacking the boy and making him attack us in return. It is because of Sakon that the boy fought with Gomess and tried to kill him. And it is Sakon who took Master Gomess' soul!_' Gremlin's soul burned with hatred. '_Sakon is the one to blame for this! I cannot let him win! I must save Master Gomess! …But how?_' he wondered.

Suddenly the door opened and a yellow chuchu crept in, followed by a keese. The chuchu made a squeaky noise. Gremlin turned and nodded to it. "Yes, boy and others is gones." The two creatures moved closer to see Gomess' body. The keese squeaked this time. "No, Master is not died. Is losted soul." The chuchu peeped. "Yes, is boy attacks him." The keese squeaked. "Is takes redhead lady."

Both creatures immediately began squealing loudly in a sort of protest. "We is not stops them because strange man is not plans to give us freedoms. Is strange man takes Master's soul." The two creatures paused a moment, turning to each other. The keese chirped softly. "…" Gremlin paused a moment in thought. "You and others is takes care of Master Gomess body." He paused another moment. "Gremlin is goes try save Master soul…"

Before they started back to Rosari's house, they all wished to rest, none having slept the previous night. They expected most of the town had likely stayed awake for the most part. Port of Sun probably wouldn't be quite as lively as it had been when they first arrived there. "I can't believe you kept that pig with you all the way through the caverns," Komali said in comment to the pig that was lying in Medli's lap as she sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I didn't keep him," Medli answered. "He led Luis back to the caverns and when they finally found us, he wouldn't leave me." She scratched the pig behind the ears. "Besides, this pig saved Link's life, and thus all of our lives. He's a great hero." The pig seemed to realize she was praising him and snorted contentedly. Medli giggled, but Komali rolled his eyes exasperated. "Oh, cool it. Don't tell me you're getting jealous of the pig?"

"What?" Komali asked skeptically. Medli eyeballed him seriously. "Oh, come on! Like I'd actually be jealous of a common pig!" He crossed his arms and looked away somewhat huffily. Medli laughed.

"Don't worry. I'll never be as fond of the pig as I am of you," she said, planting a kiss on his cheek to prove it. Komali smiled resignedly.

"…Was it a weird voice that called the miniblins?" Link asked suddenly of Tetra as he leaned against a tree in thought.

Tetra was caught off guard for a moment and had to think before she answered. "Yes, actually it was," she replied. "He said something about being her master and she had been acting in her own interests instead of his."

"It must have been Sakon again," Navi said. "We were right."

"Sakon?" Komali asked, coming over with Medli. "Who's that?"

"We think he's the one pulling all the strings and trying to kidnap you and the others," Link replied. He turned to Tetra. "He's the one that was used to create the Elegy of Emptiness. He's somehow affecting the outside world from inside Ikana." Tetra's eyes widened.

"In Ikana? After all these years?" she asked.

"If the elegy still works… more or less… that would be the only thing to assume. And Gremlin said that the voice sounded like Sakon's," Link explained.

"Link, isn't your friend's soul also in Ikana?" Komali asked.

"Yes," Tetra answered.

"Well, wouldn't that mean the possibility of his being in Ikana _with_ her?" Komali asked. Link contemplated that a minute.

"I hadn't even considered that," he admitted.

"Nor I," Navi added. "…That would make sense."

"Does that put your friend in any more danger?" Rosari asked from her position against a boulder, with Luis sleeping in her lap.

"I wouldn't know the nature of the prison in which he is being kept," Navi replied. "So I couldn't say for sure."

"It definitely doesn't make me want to get her out of there any less quickly," Link declared, pulling himself to his feet. He looked at the sky.

"It's getting to be a little late in the morning," Tetra said. "We should head back to Rosari's house."

"Right," Link said, looking to Rosari, who nodded, standing, Luis still in her arms. The boy groaned slightly, opening his eyes.

"Time to go, kiddo," Rosari said. "Think you can walk on your own now?"

"Sí," Luis answered, getting to his own feet. "Are you going to go with them now, prima?"

"Not quite. We have to go home so I can pack first," Rosari answered.

"Okay," Luis said. "Let's go then."

Everyone nodded, getting to their feet. The group started across the clearing toward the path again when they heard from the caverns someone call, "Wait!" They each stopped dead in their tracks and turned to the source of the sound. Link squinted at the mouth of the caverns, taking a few steps toward them.

"…Gremlin?" he asked disbelievingly when he'd made out the shape of the imp.

Gremlin shifted uneasily in his place. "Gremlin is wants to ask question…" he said nervously. Link glanced back to the group who returned his quizzical expression.

"Uh… what's that?" Link asked.

Gremlin clasped two hands together, twiddling his thumbs while another hand rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Gremlin is wonders…" He looked at Link. "Gremlin is wants avenge Master Gomess, save Master's soul."

"…How do you plan on going about that?" Link inquired.

Gremlin still didn't move from the mouth of the caverns. "Is wants, maybe go with boy and friends. Gremlin help boy and friends when they is needs it!" he added. "Gremlin is no get in way! Is no stop boy save friend. Gremlin is just wants save Master!"

Link didn't respond immediately. He turned back to his friends, but they still gave him a confused look as a response. Link looked to Navi. She didn't respond immediately, but after a moment, the ball of light dipped in a nod of approval. Link returned his gaze to Gremlin. "It could become dangerous, you know," he said. "You haven't been from the caverns in many years. The world is a lot different now. Are you sure you want to go through with it?"

The imp nodded his head fervently. "Yes! Is no cares about danger. Gremlin only want save Master," he responded.

Link nodded, giving him a smile. "If that's the case, you are welcome to join our group." Gremlin grinned with his sharp fangs, but it was a smile of pure glee bearing no malice. But he looked about and his smile faded. "What's the matter?" Link asked.

"Gremlin is no ventures from caverns in many, many years," Gremlin replied. "Not used to light." Link nodded understandingly.

"Just take it slowly," he encouraged. "Take it one foot at a time. If the light is too bright, there are shadows behind the trees and bushes and stuff." Gremlin nodded nervously, lifting one foot and taking a step toward the outside. He reached the edge and cringed, but continued walking. He kept walking until he'd gotten maybe halfway to the group before he let out a pained hissing noise and darted into a few nearby bushes. Link gave a wry smile and walked over.

"Light hurt Gremlin's eyes," Gremlin apologized piteously. "Is sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Link said. "The important thing is that you're out of the caverns. Don't worry about becoming instantly used to the light. You can hide in the shadows for now. In fact, people may not be used to you right off, so keeping out of sight might be safer."

Gremlin nodded, "Is no wants be hurt by peoples." He breathed in relief and smiled. "But Gremlin is outs of caverns."

Link smiled in return. "Yes, Gremlin is outs of caverns."

* * *

Me: Yay! New chara! Sorry, guys. I couldn't resist. I got the feeling that you guys liked Gremlin too, so I went ahead and made him permanent. I couldn't resist after that speech about dark things being misunderstood, not evil. I probably could have BSed the whole spiel from Raven and still have it apply. :P Anyways, I'll let Tingle and Darunia do their thing before I move on. 

Darunia: Selphie Louise does not own the character of Ravick.

Tingle: He is the creation of her friend, Patrick.

Darunia: We'd attribute him to his penname-

Tingle: But Patrick's too much of a loser to sign up for (:P at Patrick)

Me: Anyways, I got them out of the caverns, and that's the important thing. And thus concludes the first dungeon that I have ever designed on my own!

Goddesses: Yay for you!

Me: (grins) Yay for spending hours drawing maps and trying to figure out what will happen and where. It's like making up the page plans for the paper, only using monsters, puzzles, and traps instead of words, titles, and by-lines. That aside, I guess I didn't get a lot done this chapter aside from getting them out, taking it back to the CCC, and having Gremlin join the team. It may just be me, but that doesn't seem like much… And yet it's one of the longest frigging chapters? The last time I checked word count before I finished, it was at about 3000. In the end, it is now 5400. O.O; Whatever, I judge by length in some odd way.

Well, not much else to report except that I'm tired as hell. The Wiz is taking it out of me, yet I still manage to find time to write lately. Anyways, until next chapter. Kit & kir, guys.


	16. Chapter 15

Selphie: Aheh... so, it's been about five months, eh? January was it? Yeah... sorry, I was uber busy with school, drama, etc. Then I went on my trip to Nebraska (THESPIANS ROCK!). Not to mention, I haven't had internet connection for about a month. This chapter was done about a week ago, but I couldn't upload it. But it's here now, and since it's summer I should be able to update more frequently. The next chapter is already underway. So... please don't murder me in my sleep with an acorn!

Goddesses: (snicker)

Selphie: What?

Din: Nothing...

Selphie: ...Anyway... I'll give a more long-winded note at the end of the chapter. In the meantime, thanks to all my reviewers! Ri2- Now that you mention it, it does seem wrong for her to react that way. So, I went back and changed it (in my hard copy, I haven't uploaded it yet). I'll definitely let you guys know when I do; kitana5055- Thanks a lot! It's always great to have a new reviewer; aliasfan- I'm sure everyone in my Thespian troupe would love to do Chicago. I actually used _Roxie_ as my audition song when I tried out for The Wiz- which, by the way, was a flaming success! I'm a somebody now! But we're doing a show that we saw at the festival (in NEBRASKA) next spring. I'm so excited about it. Anyway, I'll review for you before the day is out; SilverHikari- DL, if you harp on Silver over not reviewing, I can only imagine what you're saying about my not updating. Silv, be sure to beat him with at least twenty oranges for me. Thanks! Yeah, for every story I have a wordcount range where if I don't reach the minimum or exceeds the maximum, the chapter doesn't go up. I have high standards for ToL- 4500-5500. You'd be surprised how many chapters I have to cut down though; Bvv-I guess your angry mob didn't pull together since I'm still here five months later... Yeah, Gremlin's joining the crew. He'll be important in the Phantom Citadel. What is the Phantom Citadel, you ask? Well, I do believe you'll just have to wait to find out. MWAHAHAHAHA! ...Yeah...; moonstear 3054- I heart your soul, sis! However, I don't care about your sentiments toward Gremlin- he's here to stay. :P See you in... well... whenever I come out of my room next, I guess...; stuck-in-a-tree- Sure he looks like an idiot, but so does Guru-Guru (organ grinder dude), but he can be hella scary when he tells the story about Bremen! Don't we all feel sorry for Selphie? And finally, yes, on to the twins.

Darunia: Here is the disclaimer. Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The only characters she does own are Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Luis, Rosari, Sra. Elena, Sereine, and Gremlin-.

Selphie: None of whom appear in this chapter!

Darunia: She also doesn't own the character of Ravick.

Tingle: He still belongs to her friend, Patrick.

Darunia and Tingle: Who is still too loserly to get an penname!

Selphie: Let him alone. Anyway, on with the story, wonderfully patient readers!

Din: Selphie, before they begin-

Nayru: We were just wondering if you-

Farore: Would be interested in maintaining your health for Honduras?

Selphie: ...What?

Goddesses: (each pull out a tetanus shot, tb shot, and finger poker and blood collection tube-y)

Selphie: AAAAAAAAAAAAH! (runs away)

* * *

Chapter 14

A cucco called out from the rooftop of the grocer's house in Kent Village. The sun was not yet visible through the veil of leaves that covered the village, so the rooster was the only indicator that morning had come in the village at long last, after the long, long night. Next-door to the grocer's house, a dog barked loudly at the rooster. The two exchanged calls for half an hour before human life became apparent.

"Carter, you old fool! Shut your damn dog up!" the grocer slammed his window open and shouted across his yard at the bazaar owner's house. A few seconds later, the bazaar owner, Carter, opened his window as well.

"If your damn cock didn't have to wake him up so abruptly, Earl wouldn't sit there barking his head off!" he retorted. "Earl's getting old, you gotta wake him up gently!"

"Gently my foot! That dog's been barking his head off since he was a pup. Cojiro only crows so that the rest of the village will know it's morning!" the grocer answered.

"That cucco's been crowing since he was a chick!" Carter bellowed.

"Ronan, come away from that window. You need to open up the store," a female voice, presumably the grocer's wife, called from within his the house. Ronan's face fell before he turned around.

"Coming, Nolan, my dear…" he said to loud laughter from Carter.

"Dad, come on! We have an order to fill! If I don't get out of here by seven, I'll never make it to the Port of Sun in time!" another female voice, apparently Carter's daughter, called from within his house.

"Right away, Blake, sweet pea…" he answered, retreating. Earl continued howling loudly.

"Shut the hell up, Earl!" Blake yelled. The dog whined one last time and was silenced.

Across the village a girl of about sixteen grinned impishly. Picking up a piece of white chalk, she made a short line among a group of tally marks on her windowsill. "Ha ha, Nolan was the first to call this morning; that means Daieno has to do the dishes today," she said to herself before standing and getting dressed. She first slipped on a long azure tank top, and then a light olive green belly shirt with over-sized sleeves over top of that followed by a pair of black shorts and white boots. Running a brush through her long black hair and parting her bangs, the girl stepped out of her room.

"You lose again, Daieno," she taunted through the door of the room next to hers and then crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned on the door across the hall. A few seconds later, a boy of the same age as the girl- her twin brother- emerged looking dejected. He had black hair and the same pale skin tone as his sister. His outfit consisted of a long-sleeved olive green shirt with an azure belt over a pair of black shorts, bottomed by white boots. Catching the smug look on her face, he rolled his eyes and smirked.

"Saeda, time to go," he said. Before his sister could stand, the door fell back behind her.

"Gah!" she exclaimed, falling in beside a tiny girl behind her who had just opened the door. Sitting up and rubbing her back, she glared up at Daieno. "Not nice, bro."

"All in a day's work Daena," Daieno answered, turning to head in the opposite direction past Daena's room and toward the stairs. She growled quietly and stood up, starting after him. Meanwhile, their little sister stood quietly in the doorway, listening. "Hmm…" she hummed after a moment. She was indeed a tiny girl. Aged at ten years, she looked about the height of a seven-year old. She had blonde hair with two long braids on either side of her head along with a set of long shaggy bangs that veiled her green eyes. She wore a white blouse beneath an olive green jumper and small white boots.

"Saeda! Come on before we leave without you!" Daena called from downstairs.

"Something… Coming!" she answered, darting down the hallway as well. Their mother was in the kitchen baking the day's bread.

"You have the list, right?" their mother asked.

"Yes, Mother. Unless you changed it overnight, we'll assume it's the same list we've been using since we were two," Daena said exasperatedly, opening the door.

"Me first, me first!" Saeda squealed as she dashed out the front door and started across the square in the early morning.

"Saeda-!" Daena exclaimed before taking off after the little girl, who was giggling wildly.

Daieno rolled his eyes. "Be home in a bit," he said to his mother.

"Don't forget today's special items," his mother winked.

"We won't," Daieno stepped out the door.

"Oh, and don't forget your father wants you to grab some bait and traps as well. Those mice had him up all night last night with their squeaking," his mother added before he could close the door.

"All right, Mom. Bye," he called, closing the door behind him.

Saeda raced across the square, past several other villagers already running their morning errands. "Saeda, get back here!" Daena called after her sister, dodging her neighbors. Suddenly there was a crash as Daena bumped into a middle-aged woman, causing her to drop the pile of books she was carrying.

"Saeda! Sorry, Mrs. Ujzco," Daena called back over her shoulder.

"Morning, Daena," Mrs. Ujzco sighed, stooping to pick up her books. Daieno approached and helped her. "Same old routine, Daieno?"

"Same old routine, Mrs. Ujzco," Daieno shook his head exasperatedly as they stood and he handed her the books. They nodded to each other before continuing on their business.

Meanwhile, Daena finally caught up with Saeda at the grocery store. "I win, I win, I win, I win!" Saeda kept yelling.

"Saeda, we weren't even racing!" Daena snapped, coming to a stop on the front stoop of the establishment, leaning on the railing as she tried to catch her breath.

"Yes, we were, and I won!" Saeda grinned, sticking her tongue out at her older sister. She began twirling around merrily in circles as her sister sat down wearily on the front steps, holding her hand to her chest. Daieno finally caught up to them and stood in front of Daena shaking his head.

"Don't say it," Daena said.

"Say what?" Daieno asked innocently.

"You know what, and don't say it," Daena warned.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, dearest sister," Daieno replied innocuously before smirking. "Oh, do you mean-?"

"Don't!"

"Could you possibly-?"

"Daieno!"

"You'll never catch me so stop trying!" Saeda piped merrily.

"Argh!" Daena shouted, throwing her arms up in the air. "Bite me, okay!"

"Okay! Rar!" Saeda leapt onto her sister's back and pretended to bite her neck.

"Saeda! Get off me!" Daena growled, prying her sister off and standing up. "Enough goofing around. Come on, we have business."

"You guys take care of the groceries- remembering what today is- and I'll head over to the bazaar to get the mouse traps," Daieno dictated.

"Yes, sir," Daena said sarcastically. "Let's go, small one," she said to Saeda before leading the way inside and Daieno started across the yard to the shop next door.

"Coming!" Saeda answered gleefully, dancing into the doorframe. She skipped right in and found her way to the candy counter and gazed longingly at the sweets, naming off in her head the ones that she wanted. Daena followed inside right behind her and instead headed over to the front counter and tapped the serving bell. A moment later, Ronan appeared through the door of the stockroom.

"Hey, there, Ronan," Daena greeted him as Ronan set her groceries, pre-bagged on the counter, as he had been for at least five years now. "Got a couple extra items today."

"Oh, that's right. Almost forgot today's special," Ronan winked at her. "Whatcha need?" They both glanced up, as an elderly gentleman with white hair that looked like it was once rather spiky, wearing a dirty spring green overcoat and carrying a turquoise messenger bag strapped across his shoulder. He glanced around with his one good eye, his right hidden behind a monocle. A few seconds later, he went to stand by the meat counter, studying the slabs of dead animal. Daena returned her attention to Ronan and listed off the items she needed.

"Two cups sugar, an ounce of cocoa powder, vanilla extract, four tablespoons butter, a cup of milk, and four cups of cream," Daena answered, giving it hard thought to remember.

"Cake, eh?" Ronan asked as he disappeared into the stock room again. Daena waited patiently for him.

Saeda, meanwhile, had continued to examine the various confections in the case in front of her. The meat display was right next to the candies, so when the old man entered and took his place at the meat counter, Saeda couldn't help but notice him. When she did, she lost all interest in the sugary treats and turned her focus to the old man. She gazed into him, boring right through the outer layers to his innermost workings.

The man must have felt her stare because he turned his head as Ronan returned with Daena's groceries. He turned his head to her and stared back for a moment. Then he glanced at the candies and smiled, pointing to one on the end, "I always liked the ones with the little nuts inside."

Saeda continued to stare a few moments longer before returning the smile and pointing to another one toward the middle. "I like the ones with the caramel better."

"Mmm, those are good too," the man replied.

"Saeda! Come on, let's go! Daieno probably already headed home without us!"

Saeda turned and replied, "Coming!" She glanced back at the man, "It was nice talking to you."

"It was nice talking to you too," the man answered as Saeda took off out the door ahead of her sister.

The man watched her through the screen, paying attention to her siblings for a moment before thinking to himself, '_I wonder if she knows…_'

Outside, on the commons, Daena walked several paces ahead of Saeda to catch up to Daieno, who had paused to wait for them. Saeda skipped along behind her, merrily singing a song to herself. "It took you guys long enough," Daieno teased.

"Whatever, tell that to Miss Merry Sunshine, who had to make friends with the creepy-," she paused for a moment, looking around to make sure the guy wasn't around. "The creepy hermit who lives by the spring."

"…You _do_ know I was joking, right?" Daieno asked.

"I swear, Daieno, I worry about your sister sometimes," Daena said.

"_My_ sister? She's your sister too y'know," Daieno replied. They heard a short outcry behind them. Both turned to see Mrs. Ujzco on the ground again, with Saeda standing there staring into space.

"Saeda!" Daena shouted as Daieno went immediately to Mrs. Ujzco's aide. When the girl didn't respond, Daena followed to yell at her up close. "Saeda, what is your problem! Can't you at least say you're sorry to poor Mrs. Ujzco?" Saeda still didn't respond, but continued to stare. "Saeda! What are you staring at!" Saeda lifted her finger and pointed, and for the first time, Daena noticed the ball of blue tinged with green flitting its wings and hovering about a foot from Saeda's face. "Ack! Saeda! Get away, it could bite!" Daena screamed, pulling her sister away.

"No!" they heard a small voice cry out, and the ball flew forward and latched onto Saeda's collar, tugging her in the other direction.

"Eek! It talks! Daieno, smash it! Smash it now, please!" Daena squealed, pulling harder at Saeda.

"Saeda! You have to come with me!" the ball cried, also tugging at Saeda. Abruptly both lost their grip, and Saeda and Daena fell to the ground in front of Daieno while the ball flew backwards, crying out in surprise.

"Guys, it's just a bug. Can we go home?" Daieno asked exasperatedly after Mrs. Ujzco had left, shaking his head at the two girls on the ground.

Suddenly Saeda's eyes widened and she gasped. "You're a fairy," she stated.

"A what-?" Daena blurted incredulously.

"Something's coming!" Saeda cut her short.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" the fairy said, following as Saeda leapt to her feet and started running toward the path to the spring.

"Saeda!" Daieno called.

"You see? You cannot honestly say I am related to _that_, even by adoption!" Daena declared.

"Daena, just come on! We can't let her go in there by herself!" Daieno replied, frustrated with his sister.

"You can go after her, but I'm going home. She deserves a day of being lost in the woods. It'll teach her how to behave," Daena scoffed, planting her feet.

Daieno stared at her in astonishment for a moment before declaring, "You're right, I can't say you are her sister, because if you really were- even adopted-, you'd care a bit more about what happens to her. What surprises me more is that you and _I _share genes. You go home if you want, but I'm going after my sister. Have fun catching it from-." He was cut off by a loud boom from the east that shook the ground, causing both to nearly lose their footing.

"What was that?" Daena asked when she'd caught her balance again.

"I don't know. Are you okay?" Daieno responded.

"I think so," Daena replied.

Daieno looked around and saw the sky. "Shouldn't it be light out by now?" he asked nervously noticing how dark it was. The sky was hidden by dark gray clouds, splotched all over by darker patches like bruises.

"Maybe we _should_ go get Saeda," Daena said uneasily. There was a much louder boom, and this time the explosion was visible as fire began to glow from the trees and villagers began screaming and running from the eastern homes. There were whistles in the air and the twins quickly spotted the arrows soaring through the air and raining down. "Oh, gods!" Daena screamed.

"Daena! Daieno!" They turned to see their father rushing toward them from the library.

"Dad?"

"Run for the house! Run, now!" he shouted at them.

"But, Dad, Saeda's in the forest!" Daieno replied.

Their father met and grabbed them, pulling them along toward their home. "Mayor Escad! We need help! Augh!" Their father turned just in time to see one of the villagers felled by a falling arrow.

"She's probably safer there. It's too late for us to run. Now, hurry, you need to hide." They finally made it to the house. "Quickly. Run to your rooms and lock the doors."

"Where's Mom?" Daena asked.

"She's already out there," their father replied, taking one old sword off the mantelpiece. The other, they noticed was already gone. He realized they were still standing there and turned, "What are you doing! Go!" The twins started and then ran up the stairs to follow instructions. As soon as their doors were closed they heard a loud crash downstairs and an outcry from their father.

* * *

Saeda continued to run down the forest path with the fairy in close tow. Finally they reached a large clearing with a house at the center. Nearby, spring spilled its water over a short rock face and began its steady flow south through the island to the Quay of Sun. The clearing itself was well tended with several plots of wildflowers and a large stool-like tree stump, the stone-lined walkway leading right to the door.

Saeda made her way to the tree stump and sat down taking deep breaths. The fairy floated and drooped wearily onto Saeda's shoulder. "You run really fast considering you grew up in Kent Village," the fairy said.

"That's how I always beat my sister in the morning," Saeda said proudly. "I'm Saeda, by the way. What's your name?"

The fairy left her shoulder to float in front of her. "I-I'm Fiyero, and I'm your fairy partner," he answered, startled slightly at the question.

"A fairy partner?" Saeda asked. "What's that?"

"Well, I follow you everywhere and let you know when trouble is nearby, like I was trying to at the village. And if you need to know something I'll usually be able to tell you," Fiyero explained somewhat confusedly.

"So why are you following me instead of someone like my sister or brother?" Saeda asked.

"I- you don't remember?" Fiyero responded.

"Remember what?" Saeda asked naïvely.

"Uh…" Fiyero drooped, at a loss. This was the girl he was looking for, wasn't it?

"I do recall about two years ago an orphan girl stumbled upon Kent Village and bumped her head pretty bad, losing her memory before anyone could find out anything about her." Saeda and Fiyero turned with a start to see a young man standing on the path to the house, holding a brown paper sack. He wore a spring green sweater with a turquoise sash and khaki slacks. His black hair stood high, curved forward with several spiky bangs over his forehead. His eyes were a warm brown, but his right was hidden behind a silver monocle.

"Hey! You're the old man from the grocery store!" Saeda declared.

He smiled, releasing a small chuckle. "Fiyero, you might have gotten another sage," he said. He looked to Saeda and his expression became serious. "You did well to run away when you did. Not a minute later and you would have been caught up in the whole mess."

"They came already?" Saeda asked. The man nodded and Saeda followed suit. "…Who are they?"

The man gave a light, amused chortle. "I'd certainly be happy to tell you, if you just stayed here for a few minutes. And after that I'd be more than happy to walk you back to the village, just to make sure it's still safe. Does that sound like a plan?"

Saeda hummed in thought for a moment before looking over at Fiyero. "What do you think, Fiyero?" she asked.

Fiyero bobbed eagerly. "Let's go for it! Anything has to be better than going back to that village right now," he answered.

Saeda nodded once and slid off the stump. "Let's go then!" The man started to walk down the path, and Saeda caught up with him and slipped her hand in his free hand.

"Field trip!" Fiyero exclaimed, flying over and grabbing Saeda's two pigtails before sitting on top of her head and holding them like reigns. "Giddy up!" he cried before the three laughed and continued to the man's house.

* * *

As soon as he heard the twins' doors slam shut, Daena and Daieno's father heard the front door slam open. When he turned, the room was already filled with about fifteen soldiers from gods knew where. Though outside it was dark from the oppressive clouds overhead, the room was illuminated with eerie luminescence given off by the soldiers; warriors that glowed silver like the moon; a ghostly light. No, they were more than _ghostly_: they were actual _ghosts_. Corporal and somewhat skeletal and rotting, but definitely ghosts. And they were terrorizing the village. "Company!" one of the soldiers shouted, and the specters fell in line. Escad watched, petrified, as a dark figure stepped through the door and pivoted to face him. The man was tall and wore black armor and cape with a wide-brimmed mage's hat that hid his face while his head was still bowed. He didn't glow like the others, but he was still intimidating.

He strode in, hands folded behind his back, back and forth down the line once or twice before choosing a place in front of them. He lifted his arm and pointed at six soldiers and nodded his head. They saluted and stepped back, allowing the others to fill in the line as they slinked back into the kitchen. "At ease," he instructed, and every soldier relaxed its stance. Finally he turned around to face Escad, lifting his head so that his face was finally visible, with black eyes and jet black hair.

"So, you're Mayor Escad," he said. He spotted the sword quivering in his hand and chuckled before abruptly sending a kick to his gut. Escad doubled over and took a knee, clutching an arm to his stomach as the sword went clattering to the floor. "So this is what the mighty Sheikah line has come to."

The man reached up to his shoulder and drew out a long diamond sword from the sheath strapped across his back. After staring down at Escad for a moment, he raised his blade and narrowed his eyes at him. Finally he made to move the sword in its downward arch, and Escad cringed, praying for the safety of his children. "Is there a clock in here?" Escad looked up at the man incredulously as he looked around the room.

"Right here, Ravick- Captain! Sir…" one of the soldiers spoke up, pointing to a small clock on an end table.

"Ah, yes. Thank you, Marduke," the man, the Captain, Ravick, replied. "Would you be so kind, soldier, as to tell me when ten seconds is over. Not starting now!" he stopped Marduke from beginning yet. "I've heard somewhere that a head can still function up to ten seconds after it's been severed from the torso. I've wanted to test it ever since!" he grinned like a giddy schoolboy.

"Once the sword is clean through then, Captain?" Marduke asked.

"Yes, if you don't mind," Ravick said. "Now, where was- oh, yes! The beheading! I always loved this part!" He turned back to Escad who was unbelieving of the Captain's immaturity. How did he become the commander of such an incredible army. "Say your prayers, Sheikah," Ravick said. Escad winced as the blade came down.

"I believe in people knowing why they die, so I'll go ahead and tell you, if you can function long enough. It was the express wish of my master that we kidnap your son and daughter and leave everyone else in the village dead so no witness would be left to lead the hero and his troupe of misfits to our fortress and take them back and continue to dismantle our entire operation and, _gods_, isn't ten seconds over yet!" he whirled on Marduke who jumped in his ectoplasm.

"Oh! Gods, I'm sorry, sir! I was so- so enthralled by your speech and wondering if he would make it that I guess I… just… forgot?" Marduke answered timidly.

"Augh!" Ravick moaned. "I've been wanting to figure this out forever!" He growled in the back of his throat and snapped his fingers. Suddenly his shadow pried itself from the floor and stood in front of him, solid and anyone there… or Ravick at least.

"Hey! What gives!" the Shadow exclaimed. "Wasn't I supposed to be asleep?" He looked around. "…Wasn't I?" He spotted Ravick. "Weren't you dead?"

"Good news, Shadow. I've been revived," Ravick answered.

"Sweet!"

"Which means I've got work for you to do."

"Sweeter!"

"Right there." Ravick pointed at Marduke, who quivered in his place.

"Sweetest!" The Shadow dove into the floor and made his way beneath Marduke.

"Sir, please! Augh!" he screamed as the Shadow shot up through the ectoplasm, sending out shadow spells. When he stood in place again, Marduke was completely gone.

"It's been forever since I got to kill a ghost!" the Shadow tittered to itself. If Escad had still been alive, it would have been more than clear by now why Ravick was Captain.

"Good job, Shadow," Ravick said.

"Can I do another? _Please_?" the Shadow begged.

"Let's not overdo it, Shadow. It _has _been nearly a millennium," Ravick answered, snapping his fingers once more.

"Has it really been that long?" the Shadow asked as he sank into the floor again.

Ravick cracked his knuckles quickly before turning back to his troops. "Okay, men. You know where the targets are, so go get them!" he ordered.

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers pivoted and charged up the stairs.

"Remember! They're not to be harmed! …Too badly, anyway…" As they disappeared at the landing, the ones from the kitchen came out, three heaving a large wooden case.

"Captain! We've found it!" one of them called while another cracked open the lid and pulled out two bottles of milk.

"All right!" Ravick exclaimed, making his way over to examine the case. "When everyone has their bodies back we are gonna get _so_ drunk!" The seven of them then left the house.

* * *

Daena was trying to breathe deeply, but was hyperventilating something awful. She could hear the entire conversation downstairs from her position curled up the hanging shirts, dresses, and pants in the closet beneath. Tears were streaming down her face. She was afraid for her life despite Ravick's order not to harm her or her brother. What made her especially scared is that, while she could figure out that the aggressors were soldiers, she had no idea from where any soldiers would have come.

She jumped in her skin as she heard a loud pounding on the door and finally a slam as it broke from its hinges. "Daena," several soldiers called, but she didn't respond; just prayed they wouldn't think to look in the-.

"Hello, missy," one greeted as he opened the closet door.

"Aaaeeeee!" Daena screamed, and then fainted finally. The soldier laughed at her before dragging her out by the ankle and tossing her over his shoulder. They left the room and met their comrades in the hallway. Two soldiers were trying to restrain Daieno, whose thrashing increased when he saw his sister.

"Daena! What'd you do to her? If you hurt her, so help me-!" He was cut off when someone finally knocked him upside the head and put him out.

"Finally. Now let's get back to the fort. The sooner this whole thing is over, the sooner we get our lives back." They carried the twins outside into the burning village, which was now silent except for the roaring fire and crashing of collapsing lumber. As they left, one soldier lit fire to the rooftop, causing the house to begin blazing as well.

* * *

Saeda, Fiyero, and the young man (whose name still had not been disclosed) had almost reached the village. They'd had a nice long talk about who the invading force had been and introduced Saeda and Fiyero to the man's pet monkey, Cotton, who was feeling rather sickly. Now as they met the edge of the village, the man slowed and stopped the fairy and child.

"Now, Saeda, until the last soldiers leave you have two options: if you want to guarantee your safety and survival, you can hide in the remains of a building that has finished burning. However, you also have the option of helping to save your sister and brother before any real evil can be done." Saeda nodded. "I think I know which you'll choose, and I can only request that you take care of yourself, and please remember the color green. He'll be able to help you."

He turned to Fiyero, "Make sure _you_ do your job, and bear in mind that she's been around much longer than this threat, so just stick to your kid." Fiyero bobbed, not sure yet what he meant. Suddenly the man's eyes widened. "Fiyero…" He smirked. "While I want Saeda to remember green, I want you to remember yellow." He winked. "It's a very lucky color for you if I'm not mistaken." Fiyero was more confused than ever. "Now go, you two. Do what you must." Saeda and Fiyero nodded in understanding.

"Thank you for everything," Saeda said.

"You're quite welcome," he answered. "And who knows, maybe we'll meet again… in time." There was a distinct and mischievous twinkle behind his monocle. "Farewell, Saeda." They both turned and continued onto their respective missions: Saeda to follow the remaining soldiers to their hideout and the man to chronicling the story of a girl to two men in red and turquoise.

* * *

Tingle: So, Selphie also owns Daena, Daieno, Saeda, Escad, Carter, Ronan, Nolan, Earl, Cojiro, Mrs. Ujzco, Fiyero, and the man with the monocle... whose name you won't find out for a long time... MWAHAHAHA-

Selphie: Shut up. That's not up to you to disclose.

Tingle: Sorry...

Darunia: She does not own Ravick, Shadow, or Marduke for that matter. Each of thembelong to Patrick.

Selphie: Anyway, sorry for the lack of maincharacters in this chapter, but I was quite pleased with the outcome despite their absence. The toughest part of this was getting started, and that's what took me all those months. Finally I sat down and got the Biggoron's Sword and I'm like, "Hey, it's Cojiro! He's got such a cool name. I wish I could work in a character like that... BINGO!" Well, maybe it was a little different than that, but after I got that far, I was rolling.

I didn't originally plan on adding another fairy to the plot, but thenI came up with an idea for later on, and actually a separate fic altogether. Little one shot. Look for it. I had a hard time deciding his name though. Couldn't decide between Fiyero or Boq, so I asked my sister (thanks, moonstear 3054!). Both names come from Wicked, an incredibly awesome book. I bought the soundtrack to the musical the other day. It's incredible, although I can't stand Fiyero in it. I like him a lot better in the book. Anyway, I'm gonna have fun with him and Saeda. Can't wait to see how many of you get it right off the bat.

Before I uploaded this chapter I let Patrick read it to get feedback on the scene with Ravick.

Patrick: I'd like to thank my mom, my dad, my bro- Wait... wrong card...

Selphie: Yeah, good job... (rolls eyes)

Patrick: Great so far, can't wait to see more... uh... The 'actual' Ravick wouldn't be so evil to people, the ghost thing I can see happing, but since he's a villian, he's got to do evil stuff..

Selphie: Sakon's pulling all the strings. What else is he gonna do?

Patrick: Yeah that too... (glances at Din) Hmm... feeling bold... (slaps Din on the ass, takes a quick grab of it and runs/rolls like hell)

Din: What the mother of all-! (sends lightning bolt)

Selphie: Hold it! (halts with telekinesis) He's got mighty Author and Editor powers. You're not allowed to touch him.

Nayru: She's right. You're not allowed to retaliate.

Farore: Not unless you want Shiori on your ass.

Patrick: Really! Sweet!

Din: Medamn it!

Patrick: (slips arm around Din's waist) You're hotter than the very fires of the deepest parts of hell.

Din: O.O

Tingle: Hey, how come I got beat up when I said that?

Selphie: Oh, goodness... I don't think these author's notes will remain very pretty for very long... Anyway,old man with the monocle (yes, he's old- _very_ old) isn't very important to this story... _this_ story... can you say sequel? Mwahahaha! Ahem... anyway, Daena and Daieno have been kidnapped. If you didn't see that coming, I mourn for you. What will happen next? Well, you'll just have to wait for the next chapter.

On that note: until the next chappie! See ya round, folks. KIT and KIR!

...My arms hurts...


	17. Chapter 16

Selphie: Woot! Chapter!

Din: (yawns) Has it been five months already?

Darunia: No! Look at the calendar!

Nayru: (looking at calendar) Gasp! It's only been a week!

Farore: No way! That's incredible!

Selphie: Bite me, I'm on summer vacation:P

Goddesses: Yay!

Selphie: So, I won't hold you up much longer. I just want to thank the reviewers, let Daru and Tingle do the disclaimer-.

Tingle: Hello!

Selphie: And let you guys read. So thanks to: stuck-in-a-tree- Congrats! I'm not telling you what for, because that would spoil a future chappie.;-) Fairy love!; Bvv31389- Please extend my thanks to your sister. o.o;;;Hey, at least you didn't have to wait as long this time, right?; aliasfan- Thanks for understanding, girl. We get to go see the show this winter when it comes to the Kennedy Center. I have one more Wicked name in here, even though it's not a major character (hell, you don't even get to see him...), and I'm not sure if the character appears in the musical (he definitely doesn't in the soundtrack). So, hurry up with "End This Requiem!"; kitana5055- Kent Village, Port of Sun, and the caverns, etc.are all on Gigas Island. Last chapter took place in Kent Village, centering on the twins while Link and co. were still in the Port of Sun area (as you will see in this chapter). Not sure if I ever made all that clear or not. Maybe I should scan the map I drew and then give a link... Anyway... Thanks to all the reviewers, and I will take up no more of your time!

Darunia: Disclaimerness! Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Luis, Rosari, Sra. Elena (not to appear again), Sereine (dead), Gremlin, Daena, Daieno, Saeda, Escad (dead), Carter, Blake, Ronan, Nolan, Earl, Cojiro, Mrs. Ujzco, Fiyero, and the man with the monocle-

Selphie: Again, whom you will not be seeing for a long time... sequel... MWAHAHAHA!

Darunia: Lastly, she does not own Ravick, his Shadow, or Marduke (dead). They belong to-.

Patrick: Me! (grabs Nayru and goes)

Selphie: O.o Okay... Well, read on, wonderful readery readers!

* * *

Chapter 15

"It so big!"

Gremlin hugged the wall of the alley between the potion shop and a neighboring house to take advantage of the shadows. The group waited patiently while he gazed around in wonder, leaning around the corner into the street. Across the way was the school, which was now busy with children on their recess. In front of the school was a playground full of those recessing children, whom Luis was now eager to join. Rosari bade them excuse her for a short while to ask one of Luis' friends' families to look after Luis while she went with them. When she was gone, Gremlin suddenly gasped, causing a bit of alarm from Link and his comrades. "What is it?" Link asked.

"Swingses!" Gremlin exclaimed, pointing at the familiar piece of equipment. "Oh! Gremlin is used to love swingses! Mother is always pushes back and forward and back and forward! Is always sings songs to Gremlin while he play!" The group listened to him in relief. "Is many years since Gremlin is sees playground."

'_I guess they weren't as different from us as I thought,_' Link thought to himself. They were all startled, however, when they were greeted quite suddenly by a familiar voice.

"Link! Oh, thank heavens!" They turned to see running down the street from the direction of the schoolyard, Mayor Joshi. When the mayor finally reached them, he paused to catch his breath. "Oh, my goodness. I am so thankful to see the four of you alive and well! After that terrible long night, I was alarmed to find you neither on your boat nor at the inn. And when I saw Komali and Miss Tetra heading in the direction of the Dawn Caverns, I thought for certain that you had gone into the Dusk Caverns and caused that long night! But now I can see that you are safe, so I'm sure that night was nothing more than a strange fluke."

The group listened to his long-winded speech and stared in silence for a moment before Link finally spoke up. "Uh, actually, Mayor Joshi, me and Medli did go in the Caverns. You see, Rosari stumbled in there accidentally, and we went in there to save her. Tetra and Komali just went to wait for us at the exit in case Rosari was hurt and needed help, but she's just fine," Link explained. He was blindly lying through his teeth on several points, but it was probably better for the Mayor's psyche if he didn't know the whole story.

"You went in the Dusk Caverns and came out alive!" Joshi exclaimed. "Link, you have astounded me with your courage a second time! And I only met you two days ago!"

"Hero…" Medli hiccupped.

"Winds!" Komali coughed.

"Triforce!" Tetra sneezed.

Link stared at his friends incredulously. "Excuse me," Medli smiled innocently.

"My goodness!" Joshi said. "Bless you, Miss Tetra, and you are excused, Miss Medli."

"Thank you," the two girls said. Link slapped his palm to his forehead in exasperation.

"…Gremlin no get it?" Gremlin whispered to Navi, who had ducked into the shadows with him.

"We'll explain later," Navi answered.

"What?" Joshi turned to this conversation and spotted both Navi and Gremlin. His eyes widened at the strange creature and he cried out in fear. "Aah! Link, what have you done! In escaping the Caverns, you've enabled the monsters within to come out and terrorize us!"

"Monster! Where!" Gremlin exclaimed, wheeling about to find the source of panic.

"Aah!" Mayor Joshi turned and fled in the direction of town hall, yelling, "Monster! Run for your lives!" over and over.

Gremlin meanwhile was still trying to find the source of the Mayor's terror. "Gremlin no is likes monsters. They is scary," he said, as he slowly climbed up the wall to escape the terrible creature. Link and his comrades, however, had just come to a sudden conclusion.

"We need to get Gremlin a disguise of some kind," Medli said finally.

"Yeah, but that's easier said than done," Komali said. "We have his ears and tail to contend with, afterall."

"Disguise? What need Gremlin disguise for?" Gremlin asked bemusedly.

"Well, Gremlin, people today aren't used to seeing creatures like you," Tetra explained.

"You is means people afraid Gremlin?" Gremlin posed. Tetra nodded her head. "But people not scared when is lives outside caverns."

"Well, times have changed," Tetra explained.

"So, Gremlin now is needs wear clotheses now?" Gremlin asked. Tetra nodded again. "Hmm… well, if is helps Master Gomess, Gremlin is do."

"That's good to know, Gremlin, but we still need to find some clothes for you to wear. I don't know where we could get any," Link said.

"Gah! Stupid costume!" They turned to see a young man standing at their open window above the alley. He looked angry and pulled inside a moment before returning with a dark bundle. "That's the last time I go to an all night 'Jojo's-Out-of-Commission' party!" He dropped the bundle out the casement, while griping, "Manek could've told me it wasn't a costume party. Embarrassed out of my mind and a wedgie like I don't know what…" He slammed the window shut. Suddenly the pig (who had previously been silent in Medli's arms) leapt out and charged toward the object, investigating it with his snout.

Link and Tetra glanced at each other before heading down the alley to where the pig was making its analysis. "Link, what are you guys doing?" Navi asked as Link and Tetra rifled through the pile.

"I think this could work!" Tetra said, picking up pieces of the costume the man had thrown out. Gremlin and the others made their way to the hero and princess.

"Here, Gremlin. Try these on," Link said, handing a pair of black pants and a black shirt to the creature. Gremlin stared at the two objects in his hands.

"Uh… how Gremlin…?" he trailed off confusedly.

"Huh? Oh…" Link realized that Gremlin had probably never worn clothes before. "Uh… here, Medli, Komali, come help us out." Link took the pants from Gremlin and held them open, crouching to the ground. "Here, step in." Gremlin looked uncertain but lifted his foot to step into the pants. When he had one foot in, he lifted the other to repeat the process.

"Wah!" he cried out as he lost his balance.

"Watch out!" Navi cried out, as Komali grabbed him beneath the upper armpits to help him stand. Then Link began to pull the pants up but had trouble because they were all bunched up at the bottom.

"I got it," Medli said, kneeling and reaching in to pull the pant legs straight. The pig sat by the pile with Tetra and observed the task before him. When the arduous task of getting the pants on was finished, Tetra stepped forward, holding the bottom of the shirt open.

"Here, stick your arms in first," she instructed. Gremlin held up all four arms, and Tetra looked at them uncertainly. "Um, the top two, if you don't mind." Gremlin put down his lower two arms and allowed Tetra to help him slip his arms through the arms of the shirt and then, carefully, pull his head through the collar. "There."

"Uh… Gremlin arms suppose be stuckeded?" Gremlin asked, wriggling his lower two arms.

"Er…" Tetra thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers when her eyes lit up with an idea. "Hold still for a sec'," she instructed, drawing out her dagger.

"What is do?" Gremlin asked nervously.

"Don't worry, I'm just gonna cut a hole in this shirt," Tetra said, taking the fabric at the place where his two lower arms met his body. In just a few short moments, she'd made holes for his arms and helped him ease them out without ruining the shirt… further. After tucking the shirt in, Medli added the silver belt to hold the slightly oversized pants up.

"Could you sit down so we can get the boots on too?" Link requested. When Gremlin had done so, Komali and Link each sat down with a black leather boot and shoved it onto his foot, slipping it over the pant leg and then lacing it up. "Okay, now that that's done." He and Komali pulled Gremlin to his feet.

"Shoes is hurts Gremlin feet…" Gremlin groused after a few seconds.

"Well, you've never worn them before, so that's to be expected," Komali said.

"No, it's not, you nitwits," Navi sighed exasperatedly, motioning for Gremlin to sit down again. Medli kneeled in front of him and pulled his left boot off his right foot.

"You had them on the wrong feet!" she declared. She yanked the other boot off and, with Komali's help, put them on the correct feet. When Gremlin stood again she asked him, "Is that better, Gremlin?"

"Uh-huh!" Gremlin nodded happily. "Is feels goods now." Medli rolled her eyes at her boy friends.

"Only four things left," Tetra announced. "Komali, help him with the gloves," she handed Komali two black leather gloves. "Medli, play with the hat," she passed a wide-brimmed black hat with silver trim to Medli. "Navi, can you manage the mask?" she let Navi take a strip of black cloth with two eyeholes to Medli. "And, Link, help me with the cape," she held up a black cloak.

In a few minutes' time, the gang stood back to look at Gremlin's new get up. "What do we think?" Tetra asked. The gloves and boots kept his claws in check while the cape mostly hid the pointed tail behind him. The hat was brimmed wide enough to not hurt his ears but still keep them concealed, and the mask detracted attention from his other abnormalities. The outfit, to us, would be unmistakably similar to the masked avenger settled in California, Mexico.

"It's normal," Medli said.

"It's functional," Komali said.

"It works," Link declared. The gang all clapped for their friend as the pig snorted proudly.

"Now to test it on the unsuspecting public," Navi stated. They nodded and headed down the alley toward the street. Gremlin paused at the end, looking around nervously.

"Is sure is protects Gremlin?" he asked nervously.

"You'll be safe," Link assured him.

"People no be scared Gremlin?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it," Komali shrugged it off. "If they're scared of this, there's not much more we can do for you."

Gremlin nodded slowly and then started out after the group. When he'd reached them, he grinned. "Sun no hurt Gremlin eyeses!" he announced.

"All right, amigos." Gremlin cried out in surprise as Rosari approached them from behind. "Luis is all taken care of. Now all we need to do is go back Abuela's house so I can pack some clothes," Rosari told them. When she noticed Gremlin standing in his new outfit. "Hala, Gremlin. Que zorro!" ((a/n: Ba-dum bing! Bad pun. Sorry…)) Gremlin grinned at the apparent compliment.

"Well, now that that's all taken care of, we can head to Kent Village and grab the twins," Link said.

"Will I be coming with you?" Rosari asked.

"Not if you don't want to," Tetra said. "We'll take you to the ship first, and then a couple of my men can escort you back to your house."

"Bien," Rosari nodded.

"Let's get to it then," Link said as they all started in the direction of the pirate ship.

* * *

Ravick strolled down the corridor of his fortress. It pleased him so: it looked just like Hyrule Castle back when he was first alive. He still couldn't have that thought without snickering to himself. It was such an amusing thought. Really, how many people could say that? Normal people die once, maybe are reincarnated, but precious few were actually revived to their same body and mentality. 

On that note, he recalled also some of the things he'd seen while not yet revived. Aside from being able to explode each others head's for the rest of forever, those who made it to heaven were able to watch the realm they once lived in. As such, Ravick had witnessed at least one other person be revived from a supposedly deceased state, and he had been sickened each time the Evil King had returned. He was only glad that green hat kid had stuck the sword in his head.

At that thought he smiled. He always liked sticking swords in people's heads… the thought pleased him almost as much as finally figuring out the ten-second-severed-head myth. Thinking of harm caused him to whistle merrily. Violence was fun. Killing people was a great pastime… if they were bad people. Good people didn't deserve that.

His smile lessened somewhat as this thought stirred memories of his old life. The war had just started shortly after he'd been promoted to lieutenant. Soon they'd burned down Kakariko Village and killed all the Sheikah there. Of course he'd known there were Sheikah in the Shadow Temple, he'd just hoped that no one else had noticed. But Marduke of course had to make the announcement that he saw tracks leading out of the village. He was so satisfied to finally use his Shadow on that bloody bastard.

When everyone found out that there were still Sheikah hidden in the Shadow Temple, there was no avoiding the completion of the slaughter. He and his soldiers marched in and killed the remaining Sheikah hiding in the temple. It was in that temple that he learned several of the skills that got him promoted to captain, like his Shadow and other various spells. If he had to kill them, at least he would allow their legacy to live on through him… and the little stranger.

He knew he would have been discharged if anyone had found out. That night, after the battle, he and two other soldiers were searching the village to make sure no one had survived, Ravick came across a tiny girl hidden in the ash. She was still alive, despite several burns, including two under her eyes that later turned to white triangles. Without thinking twice Ravick took her to the temple, where he knew she would now be safe. For the next few years, he returned every once in a while to make sure she was okay, leaving inscriptions to commemorate the Sheikah around the temple each time he went. He hoped that this tiny red-eyed, silver-haired girl would be able to carry on the Sheikan race.

He assumed as much, as he entered his private chamber and approached his window, gazing down into the courtyard below. His men were just now dragging the still unconscious hostages to their cells. '_Nothin' against ya, kids. I would just give anything to get my life back completely…_' Yeah, though he was indeed revived, it was only a temporary spell. A long temporary spell, but it would still wear off. And besides that, Sakon had also promised to revive Ravick's soldiers. What kind of leader would he be to his men if he didn't take an offer like that? But none of it would happen if Sakon didn't revive his master and escape. Who the hell was this master anyway? Maybe he'd have a place in his rule for Ravick to kill bad people.

At that thought he began whistling again as he went watched the procession below him. _BAADBAF _He whistled the song he'd found in the Shadow Temple those many years ago. The nocturne made him sad and happy at the same time; sad because of the Sheikah that were killed that day and happy because of the one that survived.

"_Enjoying yourself, Ravick?_" Ravick jumped at the sound and almost fell out the window. "_Report status, Captain._"

Ravick sighed in relief. "Oh, heya! It's just you, Sakon. Everything's going great! The Sheikah are in our custody and the village is burned to the ground… just like old times!"

"_And zee homme?_" Dimitra interjected.

"Zee what?" Ravick asked confusedly.

"_The boy, ya ninny!_" Curt cut in.

"Hey! Who you callin' a ninny?" Ravick retorted.

"_Just answer, mage! The boy, was there any sign of the boy?_" Sakon took control again.

"No, he didn't show. Everything went smoothly. I left no witnesses. I've done everything in my role in bringing you back," Ravick said.

"_Good. I don't need him meddling in my plan a third time,_" Sakon growled. "_Just make sure those brats remain in your custody until our master comes for them._"

"Right-o, Sakon!" Ravick answered merrily. He paused for a second. "Hey, Sakon, before you go, can I ask you a question?"

Sakon sighed. "_What is it, mage?_"

"Well, it's about this master you keep talking about. I was just wondering who he is and- oof!" The wind was forced from Ravick's lungs as he was thrown against the wall, causing a loud _bam!_ The soldiers outside heard it apparently and started knocking on Ravick's door (which was conveniently locked), asking if he was all right.

"_You listen, mage, and you listen good. Yes, you have a big role in our escape, and yes we were indebted to you. But that is why we gave you back your body,_" Sakon growled, holding Ravick to the wall by the throat with Selphie's sash. "_We are still in control of this agreement, and if we wanted to tell you any part of our plan, we would have. In no part of our negotiations did we say that in return for helping us you could ask any question you like. There are parts of this plan you needn't concern yourself with, and your blatant disrespect for the boundaries of a leader-subordinate relationship has put you on thin ice. Now that those Sheikah are in custody, we technically don't need you anymore. So don't make another cross or you'll be grave dust once more. Am I understood?_"

"Very well," Ravick stammered, holding his hands to his neck and trying to relieve the invisible force holding him to the wall. "Your orders shall be carried out, sir. I won't trouble you again with silly questions. Curiosity does kill the cucco, afterall." He laughed at his witty choice of words and saluted Sakon. "You'll have no more trouble from me, Sakon. You can't possibly imagine how much getting my life and the lives of my men would mean to me."

"_Just keep to your place, mage, and we'll work out just fine,_" Sakon said. Finally Ravick was dropped to the floor, massaging his throat and gasping for breath.

"_Oh, and congratulations on a job well done,_" he heard Mace say as the lock finally clicked and his men burst into the room.

"Sir! Sir, what happened? We heard a crash!" one of the soldiers said.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Ravick answered, looking around to make sure the souls had gone. '_I just hope you guys appreciate what I'm going through for you…_'

* * *

"Hoy! They're back!" Zuko called from the crow's nest as he saw his captain and company making their way down the pier. "And they've brought friends!" he added as he spotted Rosari and Gremlin. 

The pirates quickly gathered on the deck. "Cap'n! Link! Yer all okay!" Gonzo called to them.

"Yes, yes. We're fine. Now stop making a scene," Tetra answered. "Gonzo, Nudge, I got a job for you. Sorry, Senza, I need you to stay in case the ship needs defending."

"But, cap'n, me and Mako can defend the ship if something happens!" Zuko protested. To this Tetra merely started laughing, long and hard.

"That's funny, there, Zuko, but stick to the crow's nest where yer better acquainted!" Tetra answered. "Gonzo, Nudge! Why aren't you down here yet?"

"Aye, cap'n!" the men exclaimed, rushing down to meet her. "Yes, ma'am!"

"Boys, this is Rosari," Tetra told them, gesturing to the redhead standing behind her.

"Hi," Rosari waved uncertainly.

"She's our Gerudo princess, and she needs to get some things from her house before we set sail. So, I want you two to go with her to make sure Sakon doesn't try to pull anything. Defend her with your lives. Cancel that: defend her as if she were _me_."

"Aye-aye, cap'n!"

The two eased past the rest of the group, staring at Gremlin confusedly for a moment, and started to lead Rosari away when Medli spoke up. "Wait! Rosari!"

Rosari stopped and turned around. "What's up, Medli?" she asked.

Medli stepped up and held out the pig. "Don't you want your pig back?" she asked.

"Oh, gracías, Medli," she said, reaching out and taking the pig, which started squealing and flailing the second it left Medli's arms.

"Sorry, cochina, but I don't think we can take you on the pirate ship," Medli said. "If you're still alive and haven't been turned into bacon or sausage, maybe I can visit you when we bring Rosari back." This only made the pig squeal louder, but Rosari was well practiced in controlling barnyard animals and kept a firm hold on him.

"See you guys later," she said and allowed the pirates to lead her back to town and then out to her house.

When they were gone, Tetra ordered the remaining pirates, "Zuko, watch them across the island. Mako, head over to town hall and ask Mayor Joshi if he could please provide us with one more futon for our new companion." After giving their orders, she turned to her companions, "Come on. Let's eat up before we head on up to Kent. Oy! Niko!" A few seconds later, Niko had clambered up to the deck to face her.

"Aye, Miss?" he answered.

"Get below deck and make some lunch, we're starving," Tetra ordered as she climbed the ramp bridging the gap between ship and pier. Niko nodded and was about to head below when Link stopped him.

"Hey, Niko? Make it a _big_ lunch," he pleaded, the mention of food making him realize how hungry he really was.

"A _very_ big lunch," Medli added, feeling the same as Link.

"As you wish," he said, leading them inside and continuing to the lower deck with Medli and Link in close tow, hoping to get something before lunch was ready. Navi joined them, tending to prefer to stick with Link. Tetra watched them go before turning back to Komali and Gremlin. "Care to join me in double-checking the location of the twins?" she offered, inviting them into her cabin. The two followed inside. Gremlin looked around curiously.

"Girl room more nicer than Gremlin room when Gremlin is still lives in house," he commented. While Tetra and Komali made their way over to the Tome of Lineage, he took in the charts and paintings on the walls, the fine things in the jewelry box on her armoire, and the bed that still contained the soulless Selphie. "Hey… girl is looks familiar…" Gremlin said, making his way over to the girl.

"Hmm?" Komali looked up and turned to see Gremlin staring down at Selphie. "Whatcha doing there, Gremlin?"

"Gremlin is tries figure where has seed girl… What name sleeping girl?" Gremlin asked.

Tetra looked up at this too, a few pages before reaching the map of the twins. "Oh, that's Selphie," she answered, standing up and making her way over. "She's the reason we had to save Rosari from your caverns. You see she lost her soul and we needed Rosari to get it back."

"Yes, boy is tells Gremlin about friend in place with Master Gomess… but Gremlin is thinks he have seed her before…" Gremlin answered, trailing off as he slipped into thought. He traced his memory back and back and back until he finally spotted a girl with emerald green eyes standing at the base of a cliff. '_The earth…_' Gremlin focused on the cliff behind the girl to help him remember. A stone protrusion was thrust from the wall in a pyramid-like shape, and another rounded protrusion stuck out some way beneath it. Each of these moved, granite opening in two places above and on either side of the pyramid, revealing round white orbs. Eyes. The rock split between the pyramid-protrusion nose and the rounder rock jaw. '_The wisdom, Gaia the earth…_'

This was well before Gremlin and the others had been forced into the caverns, back when he was still young, back when the conflict between beasts and humans had begun. He remembered now. Gaia had introduced Gremlin to the girl because she knew that she was different. Yes, Gremlin remembered, this girl was not afraid of the beasts, especially Gremlin. In fact, it seemed like she already knew him even. '_"Gremlin, this girl is from a different time. Her name is-."_'

"Selphie!" Gremlin exclaimed turning his gaze back to the girl in front of him. Komali and Tetra stared at him in bewilderment for a moment, confused at the outburst. "Gremlin _is_ knows girl! Girl is Gremlin friend before Gremlin forced into caverns! Her name Selphie!"

"Wait, you mean you know Selphie from before she came here?" Tetra asked.

Gremlin nodded his head fervently. "Yes! Selphie one teaches Gremlin how speak human speak," Gremlin explained. He gazed at the lifeless body. "Selphie is one with Master Gomess in Sakon place?"

"Yeah, she's the reason this all started," Tetra answered. Gremlin nodded.

"She 'nother reason Gremlin have help boy open Ikanas," he said resolutely. Tetra and Komali smiled at his dedication. He looked back down at Selphie. "Gremlin is remembers time humans start fear creatures like Gremlin. They is start war because they is scared we hurt them. Gremlin remember Selphie is no afraid, is friend before even knows Gremlin. Why something bad happen to nice person like Selphie?" he asked quietly.

"It's hard to say, but one thing's for certain. We're going to save her and your master both," Tetra clapped a hand on Gremlin's shoulder.

Before another word could be said, Niko yelled from below decks, "Oy, you guys might wanna get down here and eat before these two have the chance to finish it all!"

"Let's go!" Tetra said as she led the way to the kitchen.

* * *

A several hours later, the group of heroes was well on its way to Kent Village. The path ran right up against the Gigas River, which let out into the Port of Sun. Ready for a break, the group paused there and rested briefly. "It shouldn't be too far now," Link said. "That guy back in the Port of Sun said that it should only be about a two to three hour walk." 

"Right. We'll probably have to spend the night in town. It'll be getting dark in a couple of hours, and we probably don't want to be walking back in it," Tetra said.

"What's the worry? We've got Gremlin with us. He'd be able to see where we're going," Komali said. Gremlin grinned proudly, raising his head. When he lifted his nose, however, he began sniffing, and continued to sniff for a few seconds. "What's the matter?" Komali asked.

"Gremlin is smells something," Gremlin said. He soon threw one hand to his nose and started rubbing it. "Is come from path. Something burnses. There smoke in air." He sneezed and blessed himself.

"Smoke? What could be burning?" Medli asked.

"Gremlin no know, but there lots of smell. Not cooking fire or warm fire," he said.

"Navi, you don't think it could be-?" Link asked.

"The village!" Navi knew exactly where he was going. "Come on! They might be in trouble!" Link led the way as the group began running down the path toward Kent Village. Not long after they'd started running the path opened up into the huge clearing that the village occupied… or once occupied.

"Oh, gods…" Tetra breathed as she saw the smoldering ruins of Kent Village. Blackened frames leaned in on themselves where buildings once stood, some rooftops still burning. A wagon sat with two missing wheels beside the remains of a bazaar, various items for trade piled into its back charred to ash. The horse was still hitched, but he lay dead in the reins. A pair of legs stuck out from beneath the wagon, bloodied up, their owner apparently dead. Next door to the bazaar was another store of some kind with pens full of slaughtered livestock.

The group made its way around the buildings to the center of the town. Everyone gasped when they saw it. The center of the town, a supposed commons or meeting ground, was soaked in blood and piled with corpses. Medli turned around and ran a few yards away and doubled over, retching onto the corner of the bazaar. The rest of them stared in horror at the remains of the massacre. There were men, women, and children all lying there, many with arrows in their backs.

"They tried to flee…" Tetra said softly as she spotted a woman with an infant in her arms. She closed her eyes and turned her head.

"How come no one saw the smoke?" Komali asked quietly, but with an edge of anger in his voice.

"There seems to be a barrier to keep sound and such in…" Navi answered quietly as Link stepped toward the necropolis.

"Guys… I think Sakon has already made his move…" he whispered.

* * *

Selphie: Another chapter done. Yeah, I left it on another angsty note. Anyway, review of chapter!

So, in case you guys couldn't tell, Gremlin is dressed up as none other than Antonio Banderas (swoons with Sra. Beierle).

Patrick: (cough)Zorro.(cough)

Selphie: Hmm? Oh, right... Zorro. So, for those of you who didn't get that really stupid pun, the word zorro in Spanish/Gerudo is, as a noun, fox. But as an adjective it is foxy, cunning, or sly. So, when Rosari was trying to tell Gremlin he lookedcool ("Que zorro!") I was actually making an allusion to the masked crusader, Antonio Banderas (swoons with Sra. Beierle).

Patrick: (cough)Zorro.(cough)

Selphie: Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure... (Antonio's so hot! 3) Anyway, Ravick's past.

Patrick: I approve!

Selphie: Even though he seems like a softie now?

Patrick: Please, he still enjoys killing people. Don't you remember how he beheaded Escad and set his Shadow on Marduke last chapter? Sweet!

Selphie: ...Okay... So, yeah. I hope most of us know about Hyrule's civil war, the one that the king during Ocarina of Time ended and brought peace to Hyrule, yada, yada. And we should also all know about how all the Sheikah supposedly died out, but obviously didn't because there's Impa and Sheik. And I hope all of you connoisseurs of the Zelda universe realized that the little girl Ravick saved was in fact the future Sage of Shadows and Zelda's nanny.

Ooh, Sakon's kinda touchy about that whole leader thing. Is he hiding something? Who is this mysterious leader? Could he be-?

Din: Enk! (covers Selphie's mouth) You're not spoiling your own plot!

Selphie: >.O Okay... To those of you who may have grown attached to _el cochina_, I'm sorry, but the next time you see him he'll probably be in your sausage and gravy biscuits. Yes, we all love that he won't leave Medli alone, and Komali is jealous of the attention his girlfriend gives the pig, but I can't see that staying funny forever. So, we're returning him to Señora Elena. What she does with him is her own business.

Gasp! Gremlin knows Selphie? Is that possible? Could they have met before Selphie travelled through time? Do I sense that this could have something to do with the man with the monocle? Gasp! Only _time_ will tell...

Nayru: Another bad pun?

Selphie: Yeah, another bad pun... So, yeah. Ravick's troops did a slightly more thorough job this time. Tis a sad, sadsight, and I don't think I did the image in my head justice... Anyway... Well, that's all I have. I'm really getting back into the swing of things, so I'll be getting right to work on the next chapter (if another KND POV doesn't leap into my head...). However, if I don't get it out before Friday, there's pretty much no chance you'll see it until Monday/Tuesday because Saturday through (possibly) Sundaywill be spent on reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince! Rowling rocks! Anyway, R&R and KIT&KIR!


	18. Chapter 17

Selphie: Okay, not as quick as last chap, but this wasn't that long a wait, was it?

Din: Yes, it was!

Nayru: Pull out your pointy things!

Farore: Revolt! Revolt!

Selphie: Yeah, let's see you write this story then.

Goddesses: ...

Selphie: That's what I thought. School's started up, so I had to deal with all of my summer work in that lastmonth of school, not to mention my week in Honduras at the beginning of the month. That was super hott. Back in school now, so Ineed to update my profile later tonight. Anyway...

First thing's first, I'll thank the reviewers. Bvv31389- Glad the last chapter made you laugh! I try. (bows) How'd you like HP&HBP? I _loved _it!;aliasfan- Manek. He was Fiyero's youngest son in the book. To reiterate, I _loved_ End This Requiem! Glad you liked my puns. They're far too irresistable!; kitana5055- Ravick is not Ganon. That's that. But, yeah, Ravick is a generally pretty upbeat. You'll notice that in future chapters.; Amber-eyed elf maiden- Yes, yes it is. I've never really read JTHM, but I'm familiar with it.

Pat: I'm so happy someone noticed that!

Selphie: Yeah... I had asked for some advice on that paragraph and added that just because it was funny. I didn't even know it was a JTHM reference until your review came in.; Kali Jamonson- Chica, you got about the most retarded name ever... (looks at own name) Luv ya lots, sis.

That would be all for now. Most of this was written recently, so I'll hopefully have a good author's notes at the end. So, disclaimer and chap!

Darunia:This isa disclaimer. Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Daieno, Saeda, and Fiyero.

Darunia: For the sake of legal systems everywhere, she also does not own Ravick or his Shadow.

Pat: They belong to me!

Selphie: Yeah, whatever. Read on, people.

* * *

Chapter 16

Saeda and Fiyero crouched upon a rocky outcropping, hidden from view above the soldiers and under cover of the trees. The northern side of Gigas Island was much different from the southern end, meeting the ocean in jagged cliffs instead of sandy beaches. The place where Saeda sat and the island ahead of them were on the northeastern coast. They surveyed the scene in mild trepidation and despair.

The fortress was huge. Perhaps it looked bigger to Saeda because of her littleness, but there was no sense denying the fortress' size. More than the size of the stronghold, though, was the size of the army that occupied it. There seemed to be hundreds, nearly thousands, of the ghosts that had carried off her sister and brother. "We'll never be able to get Daena and Daieno out of there by ourselves," Saeda whispered to Fiyero. The child and fairy gazed at the citadel, which occupied an island just off the shoreline. Both the island and the fortress held the same phantom-like glow as the soldiers patrolling its border.

"How will we save them now?" Fiyero asked. "Why did that hermit send us here if we wouldn't be able to get inside?"

"I think it's because we'd never know where to find it if we didn't follow them," Saeda answered matter-of-factly. She sat up and looked back toward the path they'd followed there. "The soldiers made sure not to leave a trail. If we didn't follow them-."

"We wouldn't be able to lead anyone else here!" Fiyero realized.

"Right," Saeda said, standing and walking back behind the tree line.

"But, Saeda, even if we followed them here, how will you remember how to get back here from the village if they left no trail?" Fiyero asked, following as she started through the forest. In answer to this, Saeda knelt down and picked up a star-shaped leaf with a spiky ball attached to it. "I don't get it…"

"Don't you, Fiyero? I'll just follow the trees," Saeda said impishly, casting a glance at him to see how he would react. Fiyero just watched confusedly as they made their way through some underbrush.

"You can hear the trees?" he asked finally. Saeda nodded in confirmation. "Is that how you knew the soldiers were coming?"

"Yup, they warned me. It would have been easier to hear them without you and Daena fighting over me, but they got through to me," Saeda said.

Fiyero bobbed, letting the fact sink in. "That's odd… I don't think anyone since…" Fiyero lit up suddenly, "So that's what the hermit meant by me having another sage!" Saeda had no idea what he was talking about, so she remained silent. Fiyero, after a few moments, looked over at her, "Saeda, the hermit said you bumped your head when you joined Kent Village."

"Uh-huh," Saeda answered.

"Well, I was wondering… do you remember _anything_ from before that?"

"Nothing," Saeda replied.

"Anything from that day?"

"Nope," she answered. They continued their walk in silence. "Fiyero? You knew me before, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"After we save Daena and Daieno, will you tell me about it?" Fiyero bobbed his response, and the return trip to Kent was finished in silence.

Link and his friends were searching the village for survivors and a clue as to the whereabouts of the twins. As they searched, they speculated on the premise behind Sakon's need to slaughter the entire village. "I think he's getting annoyed with you, Link," Tetra said.

"What?" Link asked, surprised by the statement.

"Well, think about it," Tetra said. "The last two heirs that he's tried to abduct have been rescued by you. He'd be well on his way to escaping if it weren't for you."

"She's right," Navi piped in. "I'm surprised you haven't been directly attacked yet."

"Well, if he really wants to get out of there, he's going to have to attack us at some point, if only to get all of the heirs," Link pointed out.

"That's true…" Tetra said thoughtfully. "I hope he doesn't attack that ship while we're gone. I'm not saying it's hopeless, but from what we've seen, I don't know how well my boys would be able to defend Rosari against one of his attacks."

"You have a point," Link said. "But that doesn't exactly explain why they had to slaughter the village," he added, making his way toward a large house on the northern end of the village.

"Gremlin is sees these type battle. Humans use on creature towns long time 'go. Soldiers kill every creature so none left witness. None left go get helps," Gremlin said, shuddering. "Is bad fights-ing."

"Well, Sakon's a bad person," Tetra said. Link had made his way inside the house and looked around at the damage. Most of it was charred debris at this point, so he was startled when he saw a head lying in the open. He turned away and started back to his friends when he heard something crack beneath his feet. Link paused and looked down, seeing a wooden frame underneath his boot. Stooping, he lifted it carefully, letting the broken, melted glass fall away before examining the pictograph in his hands. There were five people in the family that stood in front of what looked to be a town hall: a handsome, but aging father; a firm and able mother; a teenage boy and girl, who looked alike enough to be twins; and a tiny, fragile little girl.

The little girl caught Link's eye, and he stared harder at her. '_She looks kind of like a…_' he cut his thought off there. "No, there are no more. And besides, even if she had been she's…" Link watched the photo for a minute more. They looked so happy. Link supposed it was the father's head that was lying in the open. The rest of the family may have been among the ashes of the house, or perhaps outside with arrows in their backs. He grimaced as he realized the girl was probably no older than Aryll, his own little sister. Folding the paper up, he slipped it into his pocket. He'd get to the bottom of this.

"It seems so very like the first massacre," Navi meanwhile mused to Tetra and Gremlin.

"What do you mean 'first massacre?'" Komali asked, Medli finally working up the foundation to aid investigating the village.

"The Sheikah have had a long history of hardship, including a near complete genocide back during the Hyrulian Civil War," Navi answered.

"Civil War? Explain yourself, Navi," Tetra said.

"Well, every kingdom has its ups and downs, and it just so happened that we had about two to three kings in a row that liked the idea of ruling all of Hyrule, not just the Hylians," Navi explained. "It started with political sanctions on the Gerudo tribe, further cutting them off from Hyrule and enervate them. He started to ignore the Gorons and Zoras altogether. This king was narrow-minded and frightened by the Sheikah. They had strong magic in their blood and could live for long periods of time, centuries even, but not as long as Kokiri and didn't retain youthfulness. In fact, the only reason Kokiri was not destroyed because the armies could not make it through the forest. In any event, the Sheikah village, Kakariko, was attacked and destroyed in one fatal night. Apparently a few escaped, because there are Daena and Daieno, and back then was a sage called Impa, but you get the gist of it."

The group listened to the tale of the war in silence as the village grew darker under the setting sun, the sky above them turning red through the smoke. They were startled at its end to hear Gremlin calling from across the village, near the woods. "Gremlin is findses something! Comes quicks!" They weren't even aware he'd wandered off during the story. Everyone rushed toward the direction of his voice.

"What'd you find, Gremlin?" Tetra asked when she'd reached him. They gathered around where Gremlin was crouched near the ground.

"Looks," he said, pointing to an impression in the blackened soil. It looked like a boot print. Navi flew down to light the clue and followed several more leading into the underbrush.

"Did someone live?" Medli asked.

"That or one of the attackers was careless," Komali said.

"Link, come take a look at this!" Tetra called before kneeling and saying, "No, look at this." She traced the outline of the print. "This is way too tiny. It had to have been a child."

"A child?" Komali repeated. "Everyone in the village was killed, and a child somehow managed to escape with their life?" he added skeptically.

"Whoever it belongs to is alive, it would seem," Navi said.

"What makes you say that?" Komali asked.

"No body," Gremlin answered, nodding in agreement.

"What's going on?" Link inquired, finding them at last on the edge of the woods.

"Someone lived, and they escaped to the woods," Navi filled him in.

"Do you think they might have followed whoever did this?" Link asked.

"Hmm… it could be…" Navi said. "Can we follow the footprints?"

"No…" Gremlin replied dismally as he followed them into the shrubbery. "Steps disappears. Pine needleses," he explained, presenting a fascicle of flexible dark yellow-green needles.

"Damn!" Link cursed under his breath. "If we could follow the owner of these footprints, I'm sure we could find out who did this and probably the twins too!" he added out loud.

"Gremlin, can you pick up a scent like you did with the smoke?" Medli suggested.

Gremlin shook his head, "Smoke smell too strong. Gremlin no smell anything 'cept smoke."

"Great… just how are we supposed to fix this?" Link asked.

"_We're getting close, Fiyero._" Gremlin jumped involuntarily, startling all those present.

"What's up, Gremlin?" Medli asked him.

"Gremlin is hears voice," Gremlin said, looking around for the source.

"What do you mean? No one said anything," Link said.

"No, is thinks come from woods," Gremlin pointed to the forest.

"_I hear voices, Saeda…_"

"There are again!" Gremlin announced.

"Who's there?" Link called into the woods, hand ready to grab his sword whenever he needed to.

"_Hello?_" the voices called back. This time everyone heard. They didn't sound very menacing. Slowly a small blue light tinged with green began to appear in the darkness, hovering next to a dark figure.

"Is that a…?" Navi trailed off, floating toward the strangers a bit. Everyone stared at her for a moment before she shouted, "Hail the Fairy Queen!"

"_Long live, long reign!_" one of the voices answered.

"Partner or life?" Navi inquired as the figure and light started toward them more quickly.

"_Partner!_"

"Partner?" Navi repeated. "But, I thought…?" The figure had quickened pace and was now panting toward them through the brush.

"It's her…!" Link exclaimed to himself, sticking his hand in his pocket. When the figure, a little girl, as it were, had reached them, Link had fished the pictograph from his pocket and was comparing them. '_She's the girl from the picture!_' he thought.

The girl approached them and paused for a moment to watch them. Her eyes focused on Link and his green clothing. The others noticed and stared at it too. "Are you the one that's gonna save my brother and sister?" the girl asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Link blurted, caught off guard.

"The soldiers that attacked the village took my brother and sister to their hideout. Are you gonna go save them?" she asked. The matter-of-factness of her voice was probably what threw them off.

Link collected himself for a moment before finally asking, "Who are you?"

"My name's Saeda," the girl answered. "This is my fairy, Fiyero." She made to indicate Fiyero but found that he wasn't right next to her anymore. "Fiyero?" She lifted her arm and found him hiding behind it. Navi hovered over Link's shoulder, staring at him apparently.

"You!" Navi exclaimed suddenly. Navi zipped suddenly at Fiyero, who let out a tiny shriek of terror before flying around Saeda to hide. "Why did you leave, you little good-for-nothing-!" The two flew circles around the little girl, as Fiyero tried to avoid Navi.

"Navi!" "Fiyero!" Link and Saeda exclaimed, surprised at the sudden change on the part of their usually good-humored fairies.

"But, Navi, I went back! I went back, and you guys were gone!" Fiyero wailed in protest.

"You shiftless, little-! You had no business leaving the forest, you or your Kokiri! What were you thinking!" Navi shouted.

"I couldn't stop him! The least I could do was go with him!" Fiyero tried to explain indignantly.

"You piece of torpor with wings, you didn't even learn your lesson!" Navi accused.

"But I did! I did learn my lesson, and I went back, and the new Deku Tree forgave me!" Fiyero's disdain was rising.

"Liar! He wouldn't forgive you for that! That was one of his _children_! And look at you; you're out of the forest even now! Of course you didn't learn your lesson!" They doubled back and forth for a moment before Navi finally managed to tackle Fiyero and pin him to a tree.

"Guys!" most of the humans shouted.

"Stay out of this!" the fairies retorted through their struggle. They were pushing and shoving against the tree, but to those unable to distinguish them properly, they looked like a colorful Venn diagram.

"Get off me!" Fiyero tried to shove her off.

"No! Not until you tell the truth! You couldn't even stick around the forest once Hyrule flooded! And now you're picking up some random little girl? You don't deserve to be a partner fairy!" Navi declared.

"Hey! All of the other fairies left when the Kokiri became Koroks! I stuck with my charge, and I went back when he died!" Fiyero retorted, finally shoving her off of him.

"Liar!" They hovered opposite each other, yelling.

"And she's not some random kid, Navi! I've been with her for years!"

"Prove it!"

"Come on! Just look at her yourself! You can tell just by looking that she's a Kokiri!"

"The Kokiri are gone! There are only the Koroks now!"

"Wrong again!"

"Shut up! There's no one left to partner!"

"Then who's that!"

"Link's different! He's the Hero!"

"Just like the last one?"

"Yeah, just like the last one!"

"With the same name and everything? You're delusional! You've been out wandering forever, and it's finally gotten to you!"

"You don't know what you're talking about! You're a reject who couldn't keep his Kokiri safe!"

"And you're a wash-out who let the Great Deku Tree die on her watch!"

"T-that's not true! He was gonna die anyway! Ganon cursed him!" There was a distinct change in her tone.

"And where were you when that happened, huh? Hiding somewhere out of sight where you couldn't get hurt?"

"I would have saved him if I could have! And I went with Link to help him defeat Ganon afterward!" she defended.

"Oh, yeah! What'd you do? Help him target? Give him useless tips? Link didn't need you!"

"He did too! We were partners! And we were a lot closer than you and your little girl will ever be!"

"You don't know what we've been through!" Fiyero answered.

"And you don't know what we went through!"

"I know you abandoned him in the end!"

"And only I know how often I regretted it!"

"Regrets! Like you know anything about regrets?"

"And how about you? Whatever happened to Toby?"

"It's not my fault he died! I couldn't keep him from leaving!"

"Because you weren't a good enough partner!"

"That's not true either!"

"Face it, Fiyero! You're a lousy fairy partner and a lousy friend!"

"You're no better! And with friends like you it's no wonder it took me so long to come back!" The fairies faced each other down silently for a few long moments.

"Guys… we've got more important things right now…" Link stated quietly, completely confused as to what just happened.

"Fiyero, remember Daena and Daieno…" Saeda pleaded softly, dropping her near-impenetrable matter-of-factness. The fairies didn't respond, but returned wordlessly to their partners. Link could just barely hear Navi sniffling by his shoulder and sighed.

"…Saeda, was it?" Tetra asked, and Saeda turned to look at her. "I'm Tetra, and these are my friends, Link, Komali, Medli, Gremlin, and…" she glanced at the blue ball on Link's shoulder, "Navi."

"Link's the Hero, right?" Saeda asked.

Tetra raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

"He has a sword," Saeda answered.

Tetra smirked. "A lot of people carry swords. There were a lot in-." She thought before saying "the village." "-Port of Sun."

"Maybe, but Link's wearing green," Saeda replied.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tetra asked.

"The Hero wears green," Saeda said. Tetra watched her for a moment.

"Now, how do you know that?" she asked. Saeda shrugged. Tetra shook her head of the bewilderment at the girl's behavior.

"So, Saeda," Link came in. "Do you know where your brother and sister are?"

"Of course. Where do you think me and Fiyero just were?" Saeda answered. Link couldn't help but smile at the small dosage of cheek. Before he could make the request, Saeda waved her hand at him and turned back toward the forest. "Come on. I'll take you." Link nodded and followed a short distance behind her as she led them through the bramble: tiny girl, followed by Hero, Princess, Prince, Sage, and creature. The tiny girl and the Hero each had a glowing ball of blue light perched on their shoulder, and the two balls glared at each other the whole way.

* * *

_Selphie lied curled under the table in the Core Custody chamber. She found since the rape that it had become somewhat colder. That or it was just harder for her to keep warm. It had been three days, but it seemed like an eternity, an eternity in which she could only lie there and relive the terrible event. There was nothing else to do, nothing else to think about. There were times when she would speculate on Dimitra's story, but the details of the former princess' history would only lead her train of thought right back to the bald-headed pedophile…_

_Nothing had changed since that day. Despite her defiance of him prior to the act, Dimitra worked with Sakon without problem. Selphie couldn't tell if it was because she had managed to put the offense behind her or because Dimitra desired revenge that badly._

_That was another thing Selphie speculated upon when she could manage. If the Deku people were all gone, how would Dimitra get her revenge on them? She couldn't very well resurrect them or revive Termina. Link and the others had told Selphie stories about Ganondorf and his attempt to expose Hyrule to the sun once more and how Link and Tetra sealed him away in the land he was so obsessed with- none of which she had trouble believing. After all she'd been through already just with traveling through time, she'd believe most anything. But the point was the four souls couldn't possibly have that much power, so how was Dimitra planning on claiming revenge on her people?_

_Mace was curled into a boulder on his stone slab of a bed, asleep. As a Goron he tended to be more laid back, almost lazy, than the others. Curt was a close second, only because the two of them didn't have as much power as Dimitra or Sakon. Curt, however, was awake, and he stood over the rock-man, prodding and shaking him. "Oy! Mace, wake up! We're ready!"_

"_Mrff…" was the muffled response from within the boulder._

"_What was that?" Curt asked, leaning closer, cupping his hand to his ear._

_Mace's arm came out of nowhere and backhanded Curt, swatting him away. "I said, 'lay off,'" he mumbled. Curt, goaded by the smack, conjured a small, short-lived waterfall over Mace._

"_Wake up, dammit! We have work to do, you lazy son-of-a-!"_

"_Hey!" Mace cut him off, sitting up slowly, shaking some of the water off of him. "My mother made a perfectly honest living!"_

"_Yeah, that would explain why you're here…" Curt muttered._

"_Blame my deadbeat dad for that," Mace said._

"_Because I'm sure you were included in your mother and his negotiations," Curt smirked._

"_And that is why I tested my kegs on him before I made my attempt on the rest of the Gorons," Mace returned the grin as they crossed to the other two villains._

"_It took you two long enough…" Dimitra muttered._

"_Don't look at me," Curt said. Mace punched him in the arm._

_Sakon nodded between them all. "No more of that," he instructed gravely. "This is the first time we'll be making contact with our master. Remember, if he doesn't want a part in our plan, we have to find someone else to come break us out. We can't let him think we're a group of halfwit crooks, green rupee villains. He needs to know we mean business."_

"_And _zat_ iz why you two are going to keep your (mouths) shut unlezz we indicate uzzerwize," Dimitra frowned at the Goron and Zora._

"_Hey! We're in on this operation too!" Curt interjected._

"_Which is why you need to do what you can to keep us on his good side," Sakon interposed. "You have to know that this is a man of distinction, a leader of leaders. I won't deny that you two have committed heinous acts-."_

"_But your decorum leavez much to be desired," Dimitra finished for him._

"_Thank you, Dimitra," Sakon said._

"_Fine then… I guess there will be plenty time to impress him once we get our bodies back… he is going to be our master for life…" Mace conceded._

"_If he accepts our offer that is," Sakon said._

"_Zough I do believe it iz an offer 'e cannot refuse," Dimitra stated._

"_I do hope so…" Sakon said before holding his hands out into the middle of the ring they had subconsciously formed. The other three followed suit, thrusting their arms toward the center. Their extremities did not touch, but they each began chanting in the language of an era long gone by. Slowly, very slowly, a ball of energy began to form in the center of their circle, in the middle of their ring of hands. When it was formed, the four of them pulled their arms back, reeling them in slowly to steadily pull the ball outward and bring their fingers to their temples._

_Their fingers pressed against the sides of their heads, the four souls paused a waited. They waited a solid five minutes before a voice was heard through the ball of energy. "Why have I awakened?"_

"_You are able to communicate. That is good," Sakon said._

"_So it would seem. Is this your doing?" the voice, a man, asked._

"_It is indeed, my lord," Sakon answered. "Your current ability to communicate comes from a lot of hard work on the part of myself and my three associates."_

"_A lot of work would be required. Strong magics kept me in slumber. You seem to not know why I have been entrapped as such, though you do seem to know how. I say you must not know why because if such was the case you would not have the mettle to make contact with me."_

"_You underestimate us, sir," Dimitra spoke. "We know quite well zee reazonz for which you are currently incarcerated…( not to mention zee previous two times.)"_

"…_You know of the Old Kingdom. I am impressed."_

"_We know of zee Old Kingdom, zee Older Kingdom, and many kingdoms outside 'Yrule."_

"_You are either dead or gods then, neither of whom should be interfering with me."_

"_I assure you we are neither gods nor mortals. We survive in an existence much more wretched than either," Sakon informed him._

"_What know you of wretched existences?" the man asked, a slight sneer audible in his voice._

"_We've been half alive for nearly a millennia now," Sakon elaborated. "You see, we four were condemned to this despicable dungeon for all of eternity."_

_The man chuckled. "No ordinary creature can survive forever."_

"_But we are not creatures at all. As I said before, we are neither god nor mortal, man nor beast, though we once were. One millennia ago we were mortals, four very well-known mortals."_

"_And now?"_

"_Now we are that which fills the mortal, and immortal, shell. Alive without bodies, we are the essence of life itself. We exist only as souls."_

"_Espiritus… interesting… I do recall the twins mentioning such types of sorcery… very interesting indeed… But what does it have to do with me?"_

"_We can free you," Dimitra said._

"_Freedom? Heh, no one can offer me freedom. I was promised at birth never to obtain such a thing."_

"_Would you be interested in escaping from your own prison, zen?"_

"…_Now you have piqued my interest… but before we continue, I would like to know who to send the thank you card to."_

"_Of course. How silly of me to forget," Sakon declared. "They call me Sakon, Roberto Sakon."_

"_Dimitra."_

"_I'm Mace."_

"_Curt."_

"_I hope it turns into a pleasure. Now tell me about this escape plan of yours," said the man._

"_I think it will be," Sakon answered. "You see, our thousand year incarceration has given us a long time to plan and plot revenge against those whose actions put us here in the first place."_

"_A thousand years have passed, and the people against whom you seek revenge are long gone."_

"_Zat iz not important for now. Zee fact iz we cannot break out alone. It requires outside assistance, which we ask you to provide in return for our services to _your_ needs," Dimitra picked up._

"_Mutual beneficial… this is just important enough for me to agree to your terms… but it still doesn't explain how you intend to accomplish this feat."_

"_No one of us 'as zee power to release you from your prison, but zee four of us togezzer 'ave zee ability to dispel most any enchantment."_

"_I shall believe it when I see it. I await my release."_

"_Patience, good sir. It takes a great deal of magic to simply communicate with you. We will need a bit more time to actually release you from the seal," Sakon informed him._

"_You are not quite as powerful as you at first made yourself out to be."_

"_But we do have the power to liberate you, and we would be more than happy to be your cohorts if you agreed to aide us in our own attempts at revenge. We've admired your power ever since we first saw it. It is unparalleled, a thing of legends."_

"_You flatter me."_

"_Our power wanes, sir. Zee longer we are connected to you, zee longer it will take for us to recuperate and undo zee curse placed upon you," Dimitra said._

"_And I would like nothing more than to escape this wretched confinement as soon as possible."_

"_Until zen."_

"_The next time we speak, lord, you will be breathing the air of the sea above," Sakon concluded. "After that, the world will once again know fear upon the return of you, our master-."_

"_No!" Selphie whispered. "He can't be their master…!"_

* * *

Selphie: Gasp! Who is this master that Selphie would cut us off just before I reveal his name! I left a decent clue in there. I wonder if any of you picked up on it. I figured it was about time Sakon and them wised up and did something smart by getting ahead rather than waiting for Link to screw him over. Selphie obviously getsa lot of time to be pensive in there.

Ikinda liked the thing with Mace and Curt. I noticed that I pay way to much attention to Sakon and Dimitra- Sakon because of his relationship with Selphie and Dimitra just because she's cool. Plus, I always portray Mace and Curt as being kind of goofy delinquents instead of real villains. They are evil, and they do have enough combination of intelligence and malevolence to betray their entire nations, but Dimitra and Sakon are still way out of their league. I realized this and that, as a result, I have a tendency to clump Mace and Curt together. So, I decided to show a little bit of their friendship. I might do more of that in later chapters because it was kinda nice.

Backing up to the beginning. Phantom Citadel is the next dungeon coming up. I'm gonna plan it out soon, hopefully tonight since the only homework I have is Calc. This'll probably be a bit easier than Dusk Caverns though. I have a couple things planned out already, and I have a pretty good idea on how it will look. The only thing now is traps and puzzles.

Can anyone guess why Saeda can talk to trees? I personally love trees. Those of you who have been with me for a while and paid attention to my author's notes might remember that I'm on Envirothon and am the residential tree geek (we came in 4th this past year, by the way, and I got the highest Forestry score again. Woot!), so I just happen to know this kind of stuff and wanted to work it in here somehow.

That whole Hyrulian Civil War thing, I'm not sure if it's official, but it's definitely not new. Plenty of people have played with this war and several have used the Sheikah slaughter. A good Hyrulian Civil War story is Kearra's Blackened Dawn. Look it up, I highly recommend it.

Okay... Fiyero and Navi... obviously have some issues they need to work through. I obviously also left out many details. This is because they are simply unimportant right now, and I undoubtedly have plans to reveal them later. For now, we only know that something happened in the past regarding a kid named Toby. Not all the good guys that I introduce can like each other. It's just not logically or statistically possible. Plus I wanted to drop more hints on that side-story I plan on writing later (fairy lurve!). I got really sad when I wrote that exchange. I just started feeling so bad for the two of them.

Well, I do believe that is it. Not sure when the next chap will be up. I've been getting a decent amount of homework almost every night already, and it's just the first week. Classes haven't really kicked in and most clubs haven't started up. We did have an officer's meeting for drama, and it's official: we're doing Harvey this fall. Hotness.

Okay, that's all. R&R and KIT&KIR, peeps.


	19. Chapter 18

Selphie: Feh, I'm not even gonna apologize anymore. I'm a busy child, and I can't be expected to put out a chapter every other week... or month... Did you know there's no word in the English language that rhymes with "month?" I just learned that today.

Din: Don't-

Nayru: Try to-

Farore: Distract us.

Selphie: Poo-poo. Well, since we're not allowed to respond to reviewers in author's notes anymore, I'll just wait until you guys review this one to talk to ya. I do wanna wish anyone who reads this a happy late holiday. Anyone who doesn't read this, well, fie on you! Not much else left to say. I'll just let you guys read the chap.

Darunia: Disclaimer. Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Daieno, Saeda, and Fiyero.

Pat: She also doesn't own Ravick or his Shadow. They belong to me. Pat.

Selphie: Read on!

* * *

Chapter 17

"I take it this is the place?" Komali said. The group was standing upon the jagged cliffs overlooking the strait between Gigas Island and the Phantom Citadel.

"That's more soldiers than there were at Hyrule Castle…" Navi remarked to herself quietly, watching the ghosts move about the ramparts. She leaned forward on Link's shoulder and studied the fortress. "Come to think of it…" She jumped up and flew closer, quickly darting back and exclaiming, "It looks just like Hyrule Castle!"

"I hope it didn't glow back then," Tetra said.

Link stepped closer to the edge and peered at the battlements. "It definitely looks better guarded than the Forsaken Fortress," he commented. "Those guards look smarter than the moblins."

"To be sure," Navi said.

"You'd know…" Fiyero muttered. Navi glared back at him from Link's shoulder, and Fiyero glared right back from his perch on Saeda's head.

Link, noticing the animosity had not yet died between the two fairies, added, "Which means we should keep the group small. The fewer of us there are, the easier it will be to sneak in."

"Me and Tetra will go back to the ship," Komali thought ahead.

"And Saeda, too. Medli, will you take her too?" Link requested.

"You don't want me to come too?" Medli asked.

"I think Gremlin will make good company here," Link said, turning to Gremlin.

"Gremlin?" Gremlin asked, surprised by the request.

"You're the only one of us who can see well in the dark," Link explained. "And I can't imagine your wall-climbing ability being useless."

"Not to mention your abilities with stealth," Navi added. "Do you remember how long it took for Link and Medli to realize you were in the room that first time?" Gremlin wasn't sure how to respond to the praises.

"Does it sound like a plan to everyone?" Link asked. His friends all nodded. Link looked to Gremlin. "You ready to go?" he asked.

"Gremlin ready," came the response, but before Link could lead the way down, Gremlin added, "But how we gets 'cross water?" Link glanced down and realized the creature had a point.

"Uh… I guess that is the next puzzle," he said. "Any ideas, guys?" he asked.

"Me and Komali could fly you over," Medli offered.

"We'd be spotted for sure," Navi shook back and forth.

"And I don't suppose you could swim a distance that long," Tetra said.

"Gremlin not swim since before was lives in caverns," Gremlin added.

"Did you see how they did it before, Saeda?" Link asked.

She shook her head vaguely, not speaking. Link watched her for a moment, confused. He recalled Luis protesting when they'd told him he couldn't come into the caverns. Saeda hadn't even said a word. "Are you okay?"

"Shush, they're almost done," she answered. The others looked at her confusedly for a moment. About half a minute later she smiled, "Thank you," and turned back to the group. "They saw how the soldiers do it."

"Who saw what?" Komali inquired.

"The trees. They told me how you get across the water," Saeda answered, shrugging.

"…I'm sorry, did you say the trees told you?" Link asked.

"Yeah. They've been talking to me a lot lately," Saeda said.

The group stared at her for a moment. "So, wait a second… Are you saying you can talk to trees?" Tetra asked.

"Sure I can," Saeda answered matter-of-factly. "It's always been a kind of a whisper until now. They were talking amongst their selves and I didn't want to be rude. But a few days ago they started talking to me, so I can hear them better now." They continued staring. "The soldiers use boats to get across the water, but they keep the boats with them and well-guarded, so you can't use them."

"Okay, but that doesn't answer the question of how we _do_ get in," Link said.

"I'm getting there," Saeda said. "One of the trees' friends fell a few days ago. It rotted from the inside and is hollowed out. It's at the base of the cliff, and you can easily use it as a boat if you need to."

"All right! That's what I'm talking about," Komali said.

"Okay then. We'll use the log to get across, but will it hold four people?" Link asked. Saeda turned back to the trees and listened for a moment.

"It was one of their bigger friends," she said, nodding.

"All right. You guys get going back to the pirate ship. Gremlin and I will head over there and rescue the twins," Link said.

"Can Gremlin gets rids clothes?" Gremlin asked, indicating the shirt and gloves he was still wearing.

"Oh, yeah. Those might make it harder for you to climb," Link said. He went to work helping him pull off the shoes, gloves, and pants.

"You might want to hold onto the hat and mask," Tetra suggested. "There's a good chance portions will be too well lit for Gremlin to see, and tonight won't last as long as last night."

"Let's also take the cape. We can use it to hide under while we cross," Navi suggested.

"Good ideas both," Link agreed, setting the shirt on the ground and slinging the cloak over his arm. "Are we good to go now?" he asked. Gremlin nodded and Navi bobbed. Link turned to his other friends. "Stay together and don't leave the pirate ship this time. Medli, I'm counting on you."

"Good luck," Medli nodded.

"Let's go, guys." Link led the way for Navi and Gremlin to follow him down a narrow path to the bottom of the cliff. He heard Medli instruct Saeda to wrap her arms around her neck but try not to strangle her. Then he heard the flapping of wings and the five were gone.

"So, Selphie is come here when she go through lighty door?" Gremlin asked after a few minutes of silence.

"That's what she says- wait a second!" Link cut himself off. "Did Tetra already tell you all about that?" he asked.

Gremlin shook his head, though it might have been difficult for Link to see it now that it was dark out. "Selphie is Gremlin friend before peoples put creatures in caverns."

"Really?" Link asked, surprised. "How long ago was that?"

"Gremlin no is remembers. We is loses track of years after while. We have own day and night in caverns cause no can use sun and moon. Day get longer, night shorter," Gremlin explained, holding onto the rock face as the path sloped steeply downward.

"I've heard of such a thing," Navi said. "When taken away from all forms of timekeeping, people will eventually begin living by internal clocks. Without the sun to guide them, they will generally stay awake and asleep for longer intervals."

"Yes, Master is explains to Gremlin once, but Gremlin head hurt. Then Missy Sereine is calls Gremlin idiot," Gremlin replied. Link laughed despite himself. "No laugh! Was hurt Gremlin feelings!"

"I'm sorry," Link smiled, picking his way over some loose pebbles as the path evened out at the bottom. "It's just that it's weird how similar you guys really are to us. I mean, I can recall times when Aryll and I had conversations like that."

"Who Aryll?"

"Sorry. Aryll's my little sister."

"Missy Sereine no is Gremlin sister," Gremlin said.

"I know, but you behave like siblings," Link responded, stepping onto the sand and looking around for the fallen tree. "And before you mentioned the swings, and I didn't even realize how long those were around."

"Is log?" Gremlin asked, indicating a large tree trunk between a bunch of driftwood and bramble.

"Looks like it," Link said. The two worked together to push the makeshift canoe into the water. They then used a few relatively flat pieces of driftwood as paddles as they crossed the channel. "As I was saying, you guys act like family, and your Gomess seems to act as a sort of patriarch."

"Master Gomess was takes cares us," Gremlin said.

When he was silent for a moment, Link asked, "You okay?"

"Gremlin parents was killeded when we is forced into caverns… Master Gomess help moves on… Now Gomess soul gone…"

"He's not gone, Gremlin," Link said. "Remember why you came with us: to get his soul back. You don't have to move on if he isn't dead."

"Gremlin know this," Gremlin replied. "But one day Gremlin and Missy Sereine is talks with Master Gomess. He tell us if he ever go 'way, we is has to take care other creatures in cavern. Gremlin is feels guilty. Master not dead, but he is goes away, and Missy Sereine is deads. Gremlin have abandoneded family."

"We'll have none of that," Link interrupted. Gremlin looked forward to where Link was sitting near the bow of the boat.

"What is means-?" he asked.

"Your Master told you to take care of the other creatures in the caverns. You're going to save your leader. You're avenging Sereine's death. You're making valuable human allies." At this Link glanced back and grinned before turning back to paddling. "Sounds to me like you're taking pretty good care of them."

Gremlin thought this over for a moment. "Gremlin is not thinks this way befores…" he admitted.

"Exactly," Link said. "Don't worry about it, Gremlin. We're going to save both our friends."

"You might want to be quiet then," Navi cut in, keeping her voice low. "We're approaching the island." The boys quieted and looked up to see the luminous partitions rising above them. The walls reached high, and the fortress within seemed elevated somehow. The group noticed for the first time that there were no spotlights, probably so as not to attract attention. "Do you see an entrance?" Navi asked.

Link scanned the shoreline and the battlements for some kind of door, drawbridge, or entrance of any kind. "All I see is a solid wall."

"No door?" Gremlin asked, as the canoe drifted up to shore.

"There has to be a door. How else would the soldiers have left or returned?" Navi replied exasperatedly.

"I don't know, Navi, but I'm telling you I don't see any kind of door here. Do you?" Link responded. Navi floated out of the boat and skimmed the walls for a door.

"Well, how the heck are we supposed to get in?" she asked finally.

"On other side island?" Gremlin suggested.

"Maybe, but now that I think about it, the front entrance may not be the best way to go anyway. This might be a good thing," Link said.

"If only this outer wall weren't here, then we could just sneak through the gardens…" Navi muttered thoughtfully.

"Well, there has to be an entrance somewhere, so let's get in the boat so we don't lose it and circle the island until we spot something," Link said. The other two agreed, and the three of them climbed back into the log and began circling the island for an entrance. The islet that housed the fortress was much like Gigas Island in that its shores were different from front to back. Where Link and crew had first landed it was sandy and smooth, but as they rounded the island, it began to rise into sharp cliffs, which the soldiers seemed to have built up from to make their walls even. For an islet, the land mass seemed rather large.

"Hey! Does the castle seem like it's up high to you?" Navi asked.

"Actually, yes. I was just wondering about that," Link answered. "I think they filled in the ground behind these walls so that they could build on an even slope," he speculated.

"Shh!" Gremlin shushed them suddenly, cocking his head to the side to make use of his large ears. Recognizing the gesture, Link and Navi silenced their conversation, allowing him to listen. "Is sounds likes hollow in rock. Water splashy-splash inside. Make echo like caverns."

"Sounds like an entrance," Link said. "Where is it? Can you see an opening in the rocks?"

Gremlin focused on the crag ahead of them, where the sound was coming from. He was looking for a darker area in the wall, and he spotted it. "Theres!" he exclaimed, pointing toward the hole in the rock. Link followed the point of his finger and helped steer toward it. As they got closer, they realized the opening was not necessarily hidden. It looked as though the hole had been expanded, or created, by humans.

"Good job, Gremlin," Navi said.

"See? I told you that night vision would come in handy," Link nudged him in an elbow. They continued to guide the canoe down a dark tunnel, though they found the way dimly lit by a few torches. Finally the tunnel opened into a small antechamber that looked like it was meant for docking watercrafts.

"Doesn't look like it's used much," Navi commented on the lack of other boats. There was a dry platform in the far right corner of the room, and the boys paddled the boat over and tied it to the "dock." There was one torch blazing on the right-hand wall. To its right was a doorway leading into the gloom. To its left, against the back wall, was another doorway leading into the shadow. In the water next to the platform was a grate, water ebbing and flowing in and out.

"Which way shall we go, guys?" Navi asked, indicating the two doorways. Link and Gremlin glanced at each other.

"Right is right," Gremlin shrugged. This was a semi-comical gesture, somehow, since he shrugged with all four arms. Link couldn't help but feel awkward when he shrugged in return and led the way through the right-hand tunnel. He quickly realized this was a bad idea when he suddenly lost the ability to see.

"Hey, Gremlin, maybe you should lead," he suggested, standing to the side to let the creature pass.

"Okey-dokey," Gremlin replied, easily stepping around Link to continue. Link, however, not being able to see in the dark, moved again too quickly and stepped on Gremlin's foot. "OW!"

"Sorry!"

"Oh, boy…" Navi sighed, following behind, seeing with her own light. They followed the tunnel for a while. When Link had moved aside to let Gremlin lead, he'd brushed the wall. It was clammy and cold and somewhat slimy. Thus far the entire place reminded Navi disturbingly of the catacombs at the bottom of Kakariko Village's well. She prayed to Din that they wouldn't find any wallmasters or dead hands. They soon left the sound of the waves breaking and reverberating against the cavern walls. In time, though, their ears picked up on another watery sound, though not of swelling sea. It was the distinct sound of running water somewhere down the corridor. As they neared it, the air became thick with a markedly unpleasant odor.

Gremlin's nostril's flared, and he used one arm to cover his nose. "What is smell?" he asked.

"Yuck… Smells like those nights Aryll was still being potty-trained…" Link grimaced, covering his nose. A few minutes later they reached a bridge. Below it was a swiftly running channel of foul water, the source of which was a loud waterfall emptying from a conduit above and to their left.

"This must be their sewer system," Navi remarked in fascination when they stopped to investigate this.

"Sure smells like it," Link responded, who couldn't go by sight. "But why would ghosts need a sewer system or running water for that matter?"

"I dunno. To keep their ectoplasm clean?"

"Navi."

"I'm sure they have their reasons," Navi replied. "We'll ask them if we get the chance."

"Right. I'll let you do the talking in that conversation," Link said, as they continued down the tunnel. In the darkness Gremlin held his hand back to halt Link. "What's up?"

"There turn," Gremlin answered.

"Okay, which way?" Link asked.

"Left."

"Then let's go."

"No, no. Gremlin mean there turn, but tunnel still forward," Gremlin tried to explain. "Gremlin is not know word."

"I think he means there's an intersection," Navi elucidated, peering both directions.

"Yes, inter-sec-tion," Gremlin stumbled over the word. "Which way we goes?"

"Uh…" Link thought about it before deciding to follow the path they were already on. "If worse comes to worse we can backtrack and take the left. We might find they're both duds and have to go back to the entrance anyway." So Gremlin led Link further through the darkness. They heard a strange noise off and on as they continued but didn't let it deter them. At the end of the tunnel, the corridor opened to the left into a long hall. There was light near the other end and something just beyond it that they couldn't make out from that distance.

"I am in favor of following the light. How about you guys?" Link asked before they started toward it.

"What is that thing behind it though?" Navi wondered aloud. "It looks so familiar."

Her question was soon answered, however, when they heard something turning on. "What's- tha…!" Link's words were lost when they were suddenly hit by a strong wind that forced them all the way back to the beginning of the room. None could move for a minute as the wind pressed them against the wall.

"I knew there was something familiar about this setup," Navi said, unplastering herself from the wall. "It's a fan, and I'll bet anything we would've walked into a pit somewhere down there if we hadn't been blown back."

"I can't tell if that's lucky or unlucky," Link said edging back to the pitch black.

"I do have to wonder where that light was coming from though," Navi puzzled. "It wasn't that bright, and it looked rather like moonlight."

"I wouldn't worry about it right now," Link said.

"We go back to turn?" Gremlin asked.

"Yeah, let's go. We're clearly not getting down here yet," Link answered, allowing Gremlin to pass and lead him again. "So where else did you know to have fans?" Link asked.

"Oh, they were all over the place in the Shadow Temple," Navi answered. "A nuisance too. One minute Link would be wearing his hover boots to get across a gap and he'd get blown right back and have to change into his iron boots just to avoid getting blown off the other side!"

"Jeez," Link murmured. "But you're saying I could have used _my _iron boots to walk through there if I'd wanted to?"

"Yeah, but like I said before, there was probably a pit somewhere along there, so you wouldn't have made it anyway. Unless you have a pair of hover boots on your person somewhere, and I doubt that since the only pair known to exist went back to the Shadow Temple when Princess Zelda set time straight," Navi answered, floating ahead.

"Fairy is old?" Gremlin asked Link.

"Very old, apparently," Link answered.

"I heard that!" Navi called back. When they had reached the intersection and made the right turn, they found a bit of light peeking down from overhead in several places down the new corridor. This was a brighter light, more likely from torches or lanterns. There were voices above as well.

"Hey! Listen! You can hear someone in the room over us!" Navi whispered. The two ignored her and listened.

"Private Dellius," said stern voice. "Have you hidden the spare key as per the Captain's orders?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Pile," answered Dellius. "The keys to the Sheikahs' cell have been carefully concealed." He said the last two words in as mysterious a voice as he could muster, apparently pleased with his alliteration.

There was a moment's pause. "You hid them under your mattress in the bunk room, didn't you?" Pile asked.

"Yeah!" Dellius replied excitedly. At his superior's sigh of exasperation, Dellius added, "Oh, no, sir! Y'see I have it all figured out this time! Think of it this way: anyone who breaks in here and wants to free the Sheikah will have to deal with all the soldiers anyway, and they'll never expect something so important to be under my mattress!" He must have thought he was a genius, for he continued, "And besides that, even if they did somehow discover that it was beneath my mattress, they'd have to deal with Mr. Growl-Growl!"

"…Your stuffed poodle."

"Yeah!"

"How the hell did you even get that thing back after all these years!"

"Well, it was like this…"

But they never found out how Dellius got Mr. Growl-Growl from beyond the grave for Link and Gremlin had moved on quickly after finding out where the key was hidden. "Now all we have to do is find the bunk room and then Daena and Daieno's cell and we can get out of here!" Link whispered.

"We finds what at end tunnel first, right?" Gremlin asked, making a right when the tunnel turned.

"Yeah, for all we know it could lead upstairs and right to either one of them," Link answered.

"Door!" Navi exclaimed as a door appeared on their right. She illuminated the switch for Link.

"Nothing to lose," Link said, reenergized at the lead toward their goal. He opened the door and led the way through. "Hah! I can even see in here!" The room was circular with dirt walls and floor. There were six white stalks growing out of the floor in a circle around the room. Weirder was that they had hands at the top.

"Whoa, what's up with these freaky stalks?" Link asked, about to take a step toward one.

"Lemme out!" Navi screamed suddenly and flew back for the now portcullis-covered door.

"Door is locked!" Gremlin exclaimed and scrambled up the wall. Link turned back to stare at them both.

"Are you guys crazy? What's your problem?" he asked incredulously.

"Don't you see those white stalks coming up out of the floor!" Navi asked, diving for Link's hat now that she realized she could not escape.

"Yeah, they're freaky. So what?" Link posed skeptically.

"No just freaky! Are belongs to freak!" Gremlin explained.

"What are you talking about?" Link inquired, taking a step back toward Gremlin.

"They belong to the Dead Hand!" Navi answered, diving from a nest in Link's hat and hair to join Gremlin where it was safe.

"He evil creature!" Gremlin hissed.

"So? There are a lot of evil creatures," Link said.

"No! Dead Hands is always evils! Is evil even to other creatures!" Gremlin responded.

"Link came up against two when he was ten and another seven years later. I knew this place reminded me of the catacombs…!" Navi half-wailed to herself, shuddering up against Gremlin.

"Dead Hand want join Gremlin village long time 'go, but we know he bad creature. Murder creature! Eat things he kill."

"Are you kidding?" Link asked, disgusted at the idea of cannibalism. "All the same, guys, I do have a sword, and we're locked in here anyway. Not to mention this Dead Hand hasn't even shown up yet. I bet if I just chop up these arms we can get out of here." He said this as he drew his sword and headed toward the nearest stalk.

"Link, don't-!" Navi exclaimed just as Link screamed in surprise and fear when the arm suddenly flung forward and grabbed him. A ring of dirt flew up in the center of the world, and when it fell the Dead Hand stood before them.

"Dead Hand!" Gremlin cried out, pointing one arm at it.

"Link, you have to shake free before it gets to you!" Navi called.

The Dead Hand was a sight to give one nightmares for years to come. It craved dark, dank places and had lived there for many years. The lack of sunlight resulted in a pallor so white it practically glowed in the gloom. Dashed about were streaks of pasty red, but the white dominated and had a sickly smooth texture. They wished never to feel it, but it looked as though the slightest touch might wrinkle its skin, or else it was so taut that nothing would ever wrinkle it. Its motions suggested it was nothing but a sack of muscle and fat encased behind the thin, white layer.

It had no feet but wriggled about expertly, always managing to stand upright. Its arms were scrawny and didn't look like they were used much. In fact, it didn't even have hands. The arms thinned out at the end and rather resembled tentacles, which wriggled and turned in circles at its sides when it moved. Any need for arms was taken care of by the six stalks around the room, one of which was holding fast to Link, gripping him tight by the face. The head was difficult to describe unless it was lowered, for, unless Dead Hand was attacking, the long neck remained erect and the face lifted toward the ceiling.

The Dead Hand wriggled its way over as Link struggled against the arm holding him in place. Link, at a loss for what to do, still frightened from the very sudden attack, had only just thought to pull out his sword. If the thing wouldn't let go of him, he'd just chop it off and, if this stalk was a part of the Dead Hand, this would hopefully deal it some damage. He swung the sword in an arc toward the arm.

Expecting the gangly, though strong, extremity to be sliced quickly and easily, Link was indeed surprised when the sword failed to make the cut. Though lanky and thin, the arm was as taut as the Dead Hand looked. The arm bent where the sword struck but, like elastic, it snapped back into place. The only good this did was to release him from the hand's grasp. But at that very moment the Dead Hand reached the Hero and began to lower its head.

"Watch out!" Navi cried.

"Hand!" Gremlin warned.

Link turned just in time to see the Dead Hand's head diving toward him. His eyes widened in terror just as the arm made to grab him again and got caught in the jaws of the beast. Link had a chance finally to look into the creature's face and would have been immediately very glad for his close save if he were not so deathly terrified for his life at the moment. The Dead Hand had a long face with a narrow nose separating the two black holes where its eyes should have been. It was the mouth that had Link terrified at the moment. The eyes and nose, despite being rather scary in appearance, did not pose him any immediate threat. The mouth housed several smooth, rectangular teeth, all of which were as white as its body and extremely sharp and currently clamped down on its own arm. The lips that ringed the mouth were the exact shade of red blood, and Link could not help but wonder if it was actually from the creature's last meal. Regaining his senses for half a moment, Link thought to stab at it while it was preoccupied, but found that his sword bounced back just as it had with the arm.

"Holy Triforce…" he breathed, backing away from it. He might have fainted if the Dead Hand hadn't released the stalk, unscathed, from its horrible maw and continued its advance. Instead of tearing in the thing's sharp teeth, the arm simply sprung back into place like rubber. It was tough, and one quick chop with the blade would not subdue it. If he was shocked when the arm first grabbed hold of him, Link was now panicking. He had faced a lot of monsters in his travels, but the idea that this thing- this _dead thing_- might eat him alive terrified him more than the King of Evil himself.

"Link! Your sword! Strike it when it lowers its head!" Navi called to him. Link didn't seem to hear and simply kept backing away from the monster. "Link!"

"He no hear! Monster make scared!" Gremlin said. Link managed to back himself halfway across the room and was now up against the wall. The Dead Hand was now close at hand, and all Link could do was visualize himself being eaten and digested in the monster's quivering white mass. He imagined other people and creatures inside, still alive and trying desperately to escape. He imagined that was what made it quiver so. He didn't think about the fact that anything the Dead Hand might have eaten would already have been digested. When he realized he'd cornered himself (yet again), he didn't think about anything but his imminent doom.

Just as the creature approached again and was ready to lower its head, a hand grabbed the back of Link's hat. Now, what Link thought had grabbed him was the Dead Hand's arm, which is what set off this chain reaction. In reality, Gremlin, fearing for his own hide as he approached the monster, scampered across the wall and grabbed Link. This was very fortunate for Link, who still wasn't thinking as he drew his sword and immediately began hacking away at the first thing he saw, which was the Dead Hand's lowered and ready-to-attack head. "You're not having me for dinner!" he screamed, whistling in the dark.

After three blows, the monster retreated a few feet and attempted to dive underground, but Link followed in hot pursuit and continued to attack its head as best he could. The creature attempted again and again to retreat into the dirt, but Link continued to slice at the rubbery flesh until finally, with a sickening tear, the skin ripped open and the sword tore in. It had no blood to spill, but with a great moan of despair, the Dead Hand collapsed to the ground, truly dead. Link stood there, breathing heavily, not moving, more or less paralyzed. The stalks shriveled up and crumpled, retreating to the dirt, but the Dead Hand's body remained. A chest appeared in the middle of the room, but Link could not move for it.

"…Link… are you going to open the chest?" Navi asked.

"Could you get it for me, Gremlin?" Link asked in a very feeble voice. Gremlin nodded and climbed down from the wall, still avoiding the white lump in front of Link, who had not yet sheathed his sword. Upon opening the chest, Gremlin found a map. The chest also caused the iron bars to rise from the door. Link still did not move. His sword was aimed at the creature.

Navi flew over. "Link? Link it's dead. You killed it."

"It was a _Dead_ Hand before. I'm not taking any chances. Not until its body disappears," he said through gritted teeth.

"It dead. No have worr-."

Suddenly the creature gave a weak moan as it began to disappear. The trio didn't care if it was dead or not. They all jumped and dashed for the door and didn't stop running until they'd reached the antechamber where their canoe was tied and had pressed themselves, panting and puffing, against the near wall.

"_Never again!_" Link gasped.

* * *

Selphie: So, I was gettinga little freaked out when I was writing that sub-boss-thing. No, not because the Dead Hand scares me. Well, it does, but that's not why. I happened to be listening to my new Sweeney Todd soundtrack. It's creepy as shit. 

Anyway, this is the new dungeon: the Phantom Citadel. I hope you guys like it. I've got the basement level, where they are right now, all mapped out, I have another puzzle and sub-boss plotted out, the boss fight, and I just have to fill in everything in between. There are supposed to be similarities between this basement level and the Shadow dungeons, in case Navi's rambling hadn't already tipped you off. Do you think it might have anything to do with Ravick's reflecting on the Sheikah slaughter two chapters ago? I'll leave that to your imaginations for now. I had a lot of fun writing about the Dead Hand, and I'm very glad I have a OOT cheatbook so I didn't have to go through the Bottom of the Well to get a look at the thing. I hate the Bottom of the Well. It scares the crap out of me.

Actually I don't have much else to say about the chapter. I will recommend (because I don't think I've done it in a chapter yet, only in my bio) that you guys go take a look at my deviantart because I have a picture of Sereine and a picture of Dimitra there. In time I may even decide to post the maps I've made of the Port of Sun, Dusk Caverns, and Kent Village and the map I will make of Phantom Citadel. They might just clear a few things up, or at least make them less confusing. Hopefully. Link is in my bio. _The_ link is in my bio. Fnutch it.

Harvey's the hottest rabbit you've never seen. I know, I've worked with him. KIT&KIR. Hasta, folks.


	20. Chapter 19

Selphie: Woohoo! Only a month and a half!

Din: O...

Nayru: M...

Farore: G...

Selphie: Awesome, huh?

Din: No, not really.

Selphie: Screw you. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I don't feel like writing a pre-note.

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: Though she does own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Daieno, Saeda, and Fiyero, plus most of those nice guard guys, like Pile and Dellius.

Pat: But I own Ravick and his Shadow!

Selphie: Read on, wonderful readery people!

* * *

Chapter 18

While Link, Gremlin, and Navi were by no means ready to sleep, those in the Port of Sun were all exhausted and ready for bed. Tetra, Medli, Komali, Saeda, and Fiyero, despite being worried for their friends and family, were too worn out from the flight from the coast to the quay to decline the beds waiting for them. They found some of the pirates dozing while the others kept watch. Tetra supported this idea, left the crew to their shifts, and made up a bed for Saeda. At that point, the group went to sleep.

Above deck it was Niko and Senza's turn to keep watch. Niko sat against the cabin door while Senza took the poop deck. He could just hear the light snores of those below him and Zuko up in the crow's nest. He was slightly startled by a loud snort from the poop and realized Senza must have fallen asleep. '_I guess that's why night watches are always done in pairs…_' he thought to himself. "Oy, Senza!" he whispered loudly. When he didn't get a response he called out again, "Cap'n's gonna be right mad when she finds out you slept through your watch." A loud grunt was his answer.

'_Your butt… good thing I'm awake…_' But even as he thought this, the waves seemed to rock the ship much smoother and the air off the southern shore seemed to blow much warmer. '_I won't fall asleep. Let's think about one of those stories Mum used to tell me. Those always kept me up for hours…_' And while he recalled the hand-me-down stories of old, Niko slipped back hundreds and hundreds of years, nearly a millennia _to the home of his most ancient ancestors._

_His people were embroiled in a fierce war. There were armies stationed on the coast to help their allies fend off the invading forces. Where he stood was next to a strange kind of person he'd never seen before. Pale-skinned, scaly, a tail fin growing from the back of his head. His ally was shielding them from enemy fire with a magic barrier. The other humans around him were working with large rocky people, who he knew to be Gorons, ready canons and fire at the ships off the coast._

_Some of their pale-skinned allies were at higher ground, firing their fins like boomerangs at the smaller, quicker boats carrying infantry to the shore. Among them, actually, outnumbering them, were small wooden people, similar to Koroks, but very different. Instead of leaves for faces, they had leaves for hair and clothes and had one round snout in the middle of their faces, from which they fired what appeared to be rather sturdy bubbles. Following one bubble by sight, Niko saw that it had an incredible impact and took out one to two soldiers on contact._

_All around him, Ikanans, Gorons, and these other two races were working together to fend off a greater enemy. These were the Ikanans he descended from, the proud race that had somehow disappeared and lived on only through stories preserved by the scattered seeds of their heirs._

_The battle was over, and Niko was in a high canyon, surrounded by dusty rock walls. He could see a smaller parish lower in the coulee, but behind him was the mighty Ikana Village, and above it stood Castle Ikana. The town was bustling. There was a big to-do that day at the palace. Everyone was looking forward to it, though it was only the courtiers that could attend._

_Whether through his command of the fantasy or just plain luck, Niko found himself in the midst of that celebration. From what he understood, there was to be a special ceremony in honor of the greatness of the Ikanan military and the power they were about to secure. Everyone was fancy clothes and manner, and it didn't take Niko long to notice that humans were not the only ones attending. Nobles from the Goron tribe and those of the wood and fish folk too were there. This was to be a victory for all races of Termina. Wine, gossip, and song everywhere, Niko couldn't help but feel the greatness in the room and began to feel as much a part of it as the blissful servants or the High King, making merry with his queen and the Goron elder._

_His attention drifted toward the King. There was something very welcoming about him, something that made Niko gravitate toward him. It was almost as though he were drawn to him. He listened to the small party, congregated about the great marble throne, and smiled at the King's ability to match the joviality of even the merry Gorons. And yet, despite this, Niko thought he saw a sort of sadness in his eye, the distress of a good king whose country is in peril. He could see how he laughed gaily to mask his true fears._

_Niko looked past the King and saw himself in a mirror on the wall. He was in fine clothes and held a glass of wine, yet he could see and feel how silly he was, how silly all of them really were. There they stood, celebrating one victory, while the nation, the whole land of Termina, was still at war. Many of their soldiers were still on the front, and there they stood eating pastries and sipping wine, gossiping about which aristocrats had been caught tipsy in public, dancing to waltzes played by fine court musicians._

_Suddenly Niko felt sick to his stomach and made to leave, when all hell broke loose. There were screams, and for a brief moment, Niko could see, through a part in the crowd, one of those pale fish people standing in the doorway, the fin of one arm sticking through the chest of one of the guards. Beside him stood a small wood-woman, a white-maned Goron, and a bald man, all with the same evil glint in their eye. There was a mad panic in which Niko found himself knocked to the ground._

_He looked around to spot the exit. By the time he spotted it, the bald man was dragging someone through it. For the briefest of moments he glanced back at Niko and met eyes with him. He then slid his finger across his throat and continued out the door. Niko glanced back to make sure the man was indicating him, but only saw the mirror again and his own frightened expression._

_And then the hall was empty. Hollow, dim, dusty, and completely empty. The people, the party, all had vanished. Even the King was nowhere to be found, and the mirror was gone from the wall. Niko felt that many years had passed and, perhaps, Ikana had already fallen. He made his way toward the far end of the hall. The great marble throne was barely recognizable beneath the dust and debris. Niko felt a near shame for his people, reduced to a cluttered and dusty thrown. Stepping forward, he swept the rubbish and wreckage from the arms and seat and rubbed away the dust from the back._

_Done with the redemption, Niko turned, ready to leave. Before lifting one foot from the stone tile, he rotated on the spot, facing the throne. Suddenly he was overcome with the great urge to sit on that throne. There weren't any other Ikanans there, right? The impulse compelled him back to the marble chair. Slowly and carefully, Niko lowered himself into the seat. As he sat, he blinked and for a brief flash was surrounded by light and people once more, but it disappeared so quickly he wasn't sure it had really been there._

_Shaking his head in disbelief, Niko put his hands on the arms of the chair to raise himself from the seat. But when he moved his hands over the marble, he felt the small indentations hidden beneath the dust. Immediately curious, he rubbed away the grime until the notches were visible. They were quite obviously words, written in the ancient language. Whether as a result of the dream or some untapped genetic ability, Niko was able to immediately decipher the small characters and read them aloud._

"_Traitors in life. Traitors at core._

_Forever a plague. No longer these four._

_Reprisal swift and forever more_

_Till fool or hero violate this door."_

_And then there was darkness. He stood in a room of pitch black, filled with gloom and guile. His eyes adjusted to the murk, and he saw the four from the celebration, the four who had caused the party to be thrown into bedlam. Finally he realized that the strange-looking people were Zoras and Dekus, and he was standing face to face with the four whose souls were used for the Elegy of Emptiness that very day he had attended. And they were not alone. Lying on the table in the middle of the room was his friend, but he did not even get to greet her for the four villains were upon him in a second._

_Niko struggled and fought back _and suddenly Senza was upon them and calling out for the others. Niko opened his eyes to find a flurry of feathers and claws. He was surrounded by kargoroks, grabbing at him and squawking like mad. Senza had his dagger out and was stabbing for the weak spot of the monstrous birds, and Niko finally gathered enough wits to do the same.

"What's going on!" he heard the door slam open and Tetra yell as Zuko joined the brawl.

"Ack!" Medli screamed as the door closed again.

"Stay back, Miss!" Gonzo shouted, adding himself and Nudge to the fight. A few seconds later the kargoroks were either dead or had flown away. When all was clear they retreated to the cabin and regrouped there.

"What in Din's name just happened up there?" Tetra asked, angry and shaken up.

"I don't know, Miss Tetra," Senza answered. "One minute I was keepin' watch, the next thing I knew, them kargoroks was snatchin' at Niko!"

"Tetra, this is serious," Komali said. "If they're starting to attack the pirates, they must be trying to get at the three of us-!"

"I know! Jeez, don't you think it's possible they were going for the door and got Niko instead?" Tetra asked. "This is what I call a lucky break, and I don't like banking on luck."

"Miss Tetra, we took care of those kargoroks this time, but I won't lie to ya, it's a fair deal tougher than what Link makes it look," Gonzo explained.

"I'm aware of this too, but we can't exactly go and get him right now," Tetra answered. "I'm hoping we don't have to do it again, but if that's what it comes down to, I don't want anyone alone and unprepared. It'll be tougher for anything to get us if we're all inside- yes, even you, Zuko. We can't afford to lose you-, so anyone on watch is going to keep it on the inside of that door. Understood?"

"Aye," the pirates answered.

"As for the rest of us," Tetra turned to face Komali, Medli, Rosari, Saeda, and Fiyero. "It'll be a good deal safer if we sleep in the same room, and I think that should be below deck. Just so there's no surprises, make sure that _if_ you sleep, you sleep with your back against someone." Everyone agreed to these terms and rearranged their selves accordingly. The pirates divided their watch into halves instead of thirds this time, leaving Niko, Senza and Zuko to sleep first. And through all the excitement, Niko forgot to tell them about his dream.

* * *

"What's behind door number one," Link said to himself as he took the handle of the door. He, Gremlin, and Navi had found their way down the western passage, over another bridge and the castle's sewer system, and to an intersection not unlike the one they had met in the northern passage, only this time they knew where it would lead. They had looked at the map before continuing on from the dock and knew that there was a lock at the end of the tunnel if they continued on straight. To the right, however, was clear, so this was the way they'd taken, up a flight of stairs, through a door, and into the circular room in which they now stood. 

At the center of the room was a spiral staircase leading down. Stationed at any of the four compass points were four doors. They stood at the eastern door and now opened it.

Inside was the first bunkroom. It was long and housed ten bunks, three beds high, thirty mattresses in all. What they hadn't counted on were the thirty soldiers asleep in their bunks. "Climb up and search the top bunks, but don't make a sound," Link instructed Gremlin.

"How we knows which one have key?" Gremlin whispered, climbing the wall to begin looking.

"Look for Mr. Growl-Growl," Navi answered, flying through the middle bunks while Link took the bottom. They circled the room twice and didn't find anything except questionable pictures of court ladies of old. Link peeked around the pillows, looking for sign of a fluffy poodle. More than once Navi had to hide because her light had disturbed a sleeping soldier. Gremlin accidentally bit his tale, which he'd been carrying in his mouth to avoid it hitting anyone, and had to hold down the cry of pain that came.

"Find anything?" Link asked when he'd reached the door again.

"Nothing," Gremlin answered, dropping lightly from the ceiling next to him.

"It's not in here," Navi concluded. "We'll have to try the other ones."

They crossed the central hub and entered the western bunkroom. They repeated the process and still didn't find the key. There was a door at the other end of this room, leading into another bedroom, but it was labeled Lieutenant's Quarters, so they knew it to be Pile's, not Dellius'. They didn't dare open it for fear it would wake the other men.

Finally they reached the northern bunkroom. They quietly searched as they had in the other rooms. When they reached the center of the room, Navi squeaked out in excitement, "Hey! I found it!"

"Wh-what?" came the mumbled response from several surrounding soldiers. Navi quickly dove beneath the nearest pillow as Link ducked behind the last bed in the row and Gremlin pressed himself in between two bed frames. They waited uncomfortably for a few tense minutes before they heard all the men begin to snore again.

"Are you insane!" Link whispered.

"It's been suggested! It was an accident!" Navi responded.

"We get key now, please?" Gremlin requested, sensing that their heated whispering might still wake the squirming soldiers around them.

"Right, look under the mattress," Navi said. Link climbed the ladder and lifted the mattress.

After searching for a minute or two he reported, "There's nothing here."

"What do you mean there's nothing there?" Navi asked.

"I mean there is definitely no key beneath this mattress," Link responded.

"There has to be! That Dellius person said the key was under his mattress guarded by his stuffed poodle," Navi flew up and joined him. "Do you see this poodle? That means the key is in this bed!"

"Navi," Link grabbed the poodle, "You can argue logic all you want, but the key isn't under there!" He threw Mr. Growl-Growl to the floor. It squeaked on impact.

"Shhhh!" Gremlin hushed desperately, sensing the stirring around them. He looked down at the poodle on the floor and picked it up, examining it.

"Let me look. It's probably snagged under a sheet or something," Navi flew underneath the raised mattress. Gremlin stood below them squeezing and prodding the stuffed toy, finding a hard object inside of it.

"Be my guest," Link replied. Once Navi was under the mattress he let it drop on top of her. Using one claw to dissect one seam, Gremlin reached into the stuffing and pulled out the key.

"Guyses!" Gremlin whispered excitedly, holding up the desired object.

"You did that on purpose!" Navi shrieked at Link when she climbed out from beneath the mattress.

"Only to keep you quiet, that's for sure!" Link retorted.

"Quietses!" Gremlin outburst finally. And with that, all the soldiers started from their sleep.

"Gremlin!" the boy and fairy exclaimed.

Taking no time to consider the irony, Gremlin grabbed Link by the arm and dashed for the door before the soldiers could turn on the lights and attack them. "Go down!" Navi cried as they ran down the spiral staircase. At the bottom was a large bathroom for all of the soldiers to use. They heard the door open upstairs and made the quick decision to duck inside a shower stall. The sound of feet thundering down the iron filled the entire lavatory until they were all down there, wondering where their quarry had disappeared. A few seconds later one soldier took it upon himself to step forward and pull back the shower curtain.

Several loud screams were heard and a bar of soap was dropped. "Dellius! What the hell are you doing!" the soldier shouted.

"Gah! Norris! I didn't do anything I swear!" Dellius screamed in response, quickly covering himself with his towel.

"You idiot, you're a ghost! You don't need to shower!" Norris yelled, having, along with his fellows, shielded his eyes.

"Well, excuse me if old habits are hard to kill. We have running water for a reason," Dellius retorted, placing his hands on his hips in defiance, allowing the towel, in the process, to fall to the floor.

The men all outburst in disgust as Lieutenant Pile made his way down the stairs. "The other men are trying to sleep! If you want to stay up late, I'm sure we can find some busy work for the lot of you. What is going on down here!" he bellowed.

"Dellius woke us up again, Lieutenant," Norris reported.

"What?" Pile looked down and saw Dellius' birthday suit. "Dellius! Put some clothes on, private- I mean, naked- I mean-! Grrr! Dellius, make yourself decent! And don't let me catch you using these showers again until you have something to shower!"

"Well, _excuse_ me, but where else am I supposed to sing Pirates of the Penzance?" Dellius asked.

"MOVE!" Pile screamed. There was a shuffling of feet as each of the men returned upstairs. When they were sure they were alone again, Link, Gremlin, and Navi stepped out from behind the shower curtain and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was too close," Navi said.

"Agreed," Link concurred. "We gotta be quieter about this." Gremlin and Navi both nodded in agreement. Now that they didn't have thirty soldiers on their tails, they had a chance to take in the bathroom. It was mucky and dank, and there was a faint odor in the air.

"It's disgusting. This is definitely a men's bathroom," Navi said.

"Y'know, this isn't bad as far as bathrooms go," Link said to Gremlin, who nodded in approval. Navi sighed in exasperation. "Whoa, what's this?" Link had made his way behind the staircase and had found a large chest.

"Hey! I bet it's the compass!" Navi said excitedly, as she and Gremlin moved over to examine it as well.

"Open!" Gremlin proposed. Link shrugged and lifted the lid. Inside was, indeed, a compass.

"Great, now all we need to do is-!" Before they could find out what they needed to do, Dellius and Pile appeared at the top of the stairs, Dellius grumbling about thinking he left Mr. Growl-Growl in the bathroom but not remembering having taken the poodle down with him and Pile remarking on the stupidity of the soldier. As soon as they started down the stairs he saw the trio beneath them. "Uh-oh…"

"Lieutenant! Intruders! Intruders!" Dellius shouted, while Pile took the more practical route of pressing a conveniently placed button on the wall. Then gravity took hold as a trapdoor opened beneath the trio and Link and Gremlin fell through the floor.

"Guys?" Navi called, but then the trapdoor began to close and, panicking, Navi dove in to keep from getting separated. It wasn't a very long way down, but it certainly wasn't short. "Guys, are you okay?" When she finally reached the bottom she found them massaging their feet and rumps, having landed on one or the other. "Hey! Are you okay?" They had landed at the end of a long tunnel with wet walls- wet with Nayru knows what. There was also a sound of running water coming from the other end of the tunnel, and the air was somewhat warm, almost steamy.

"Gremlin is hurts in tail, but is okays," Gremlin answered, massaging his rear extremity.

"I've felt worse," Link replied, working his knees. "I've also felt better…"

"Jeez, don't you know to tuck and roll by now?" Navi asked.

"Buzz off-" (Navi resented that) "-you can fly, you don't know what it's like," Link said.

"Well, we're down here now anyway, so let's make the best of it and try to find our way out," Navi responded. To answer, Link pulled out the map and compass, and the group stooped down to examine them.

"Lucky break, the boss key's down here," Link pointed out. "It's up here and to the left, and it looks like the ladder is just at the end of this tunnel."

"Good, let's go then," Navi raised herself and led the way. They made their way down the tunnel and came to a split. A very interesting split.

"Well, there's something you don't see every day," Link said. They had arrived at a four-way intersection. Directly ahead of them was an alcove where the ladder hung. To the right or left were two shorter corridors, each leading to its own room. The left room and ladder were both blocked off, but neither by door nor cage.

"Waterfalls?" Gremlin asked, looking at the one right in front of them.

"More or less," Link answered. It was definitely water falling, but they were certainly not like the cataracts Link had seen at Forest Haven or the Diamond Steppe Island. The water fell through a large pipe in the ceiling and disappeared through a grate in the floor. ((a/n: Veterans, recall, if you will, the Great Bay Temple from Majora's Mask. Remember the waterfalls in the ceiling you had to shoot with ice arrows? Think that.)) In addition, the water was very warm, warm enough to give off steam.

"If I wasn't sure the pressure would kill me, I would be in that water," Navi sighed.

"But how gets to ladder?" Gremlin asked.

"Hopefully there's a switch in here," Link said, leading them toward the room to the right. Navi followed for half a second before she spotted a fairy-sized puddle on the floor and decided to make temporary use of the tiny hot tub. Link and Gremlin, however, continued to a square room with a lever on one wall. "With any luck, this'll stop the waterfall over the ladder." Link took the lever in hand and pulled down on it. They turned around in time to see the deluge over the far doorway end, but, unfortunately, a new one started over the doorway to the room they were in.

"That's no good," Link muttered, lifting the lever again.

"Gremlin go other room, looks for switch," Gremlin volunteered.

"Go for it. We'll play with them for a minute and see if we can get the ladder clear," Link replied. Gremlin went through the door and down the hall to the other waterfall.

"Whatcha doing?" Navi asked, as Gremlin walked by without Link.

"We try find way gets rid waterfall," Gremlin answered, continuing to the other end, Navi in tow. Link lowered the lever and was cut off by the torrent that followed. The waterfall down the left hallway disappeared, though, and Gremlin and Navi ventured inside. The room was a bit different from the other one. It was bigger, for one thing, and had dirt for a floor, rather than the stone bricks and tiles in the rest of the fortress. Actually it was more like mud flooring, for the dirt had gotten wet from the waterfall and was rather thick. Last, but not least, it had four torches mounted on the walls.

In similarities, it had a lever as well, which Gremlin found promptly. "Hey! Isn't this the room the boss key is supposed to be in?" Navi asked. Gremlin shrugged two shoulders and lowered the lever. In the other room, a chest materialized, and Link found a key inside of it. His doorway was now open, and he went outside to see what was going on. The ladder hadn't been made accessible as they'd hoped. What they hadn't counted on was that the waterfall would start up over Gremlin's doorway again, trapping Gremlin and Navi inside and leaving Link on the outside looking in. They also hadn't counted on the torches flaring higher to announce the entrance of a rather interesting monster.

In this fortress, the trio had met a Dead Hand and a number of ghosts, but not until this point had they met a skeleton. Actually, it wasn't a skeleton in the simplest idea of the word. Stalfos and stalchildren are skeletons, but this was more like a random compilation of bones inside a sort of see-through sack that held them all together. This Bag of Bones had no ears, no tongue, nor nose or nerves, but it had two somewhat large eyes, stuck at the end of two bones like Vlad the Impaler's heads. These eyes seemed to offer its only sense of direction since it lacked the organs to gauge the other senses.

"Where boy when Gremlin needs him?" Gremlin groaned.

Ravick was still in his chambers, though he was doing less musing and more… "reading." When Lieutenant Pile came bursting through his door, Ravick quickly hid his "periodical" and tuned in to the sudden rambling of a high-ranking subordinate. "Captain! News from the bathroom!"

"Is Dellius writing funny jokes about Norris on the bathroom wall again? That one about his mom and the like-like was hilarious!" Ravick exclaimed.

Pile stared at him long and hard. "No, sir… There are intruders in the fortress."

"What!" That broke Ravick from his current silliness. "How did they find us! Didn't I tell you to cover your tracks!"

"We did, sir, I made sure of it myself," Pile answered.

"You made sure of it yourself, did you? Does that mean you are at fault for this?" Ravick asked, growing steadily more angry.

"No, sir! It's not my fault! I told-!"

"Don't say you told someone else to do it," Ravick cut him off, lowering his head so that the wide brim of his mage's hat hid his eyes. "Because that sounds like an excuse, and I think you know how I feel about excuses." Ravick lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. Two seconds later, his shadow was standing before him. Pile, who had heard what happened to Marduke, was immediately terrified for his afterlife.

"Now, lieutenant… you have one chance to redeem yourself…" Ravick continued slowly and quietly.

"Yes, sir," Pile replied in a quaky voice.

"You say there are intruders in the basement. Answer me this: is one of them wearing green?"

"Well, yes, sir."

For a few moments nothing happened. Then Ravick tilted his head to the shadow and jerked it in the direction of Pile. "I love my job!" Shadow squealed, diving into the floor and quickly finding his way to Pile.

"No! Sir! I beg of you! Please!" Just before the Shadow could pop out and kill Pile, Ravick snapped his fingers once more, and Shadow appeared next to Pile instead.

"Aw…" Shadow whined.

"Hush," Ravick rolled his eyes at him before turning to Pile, lifting his head once more. "Get down on your knees right now and thank Din that I am a lazy bastard and don't feel like dealing with those soldiers." Pile dropped to his knees and made a symbol of the Triforce across his chest. "Now, where did you find the intruders?"

"In the bathroom, sir. But I dropped them down the trapdoor, so they actually shouldn't be much of a problem," Pile replied, standing again.

Ravick chuckled lightly. "Your naïveté amuses me. This is the Hero, we're talking about. He'll get out of there I guarantee it…"

"So, what do you want us to do?" Pile asked.

"Go to your room and wait," Ravick answered.

"Pardon?"

"If I know this castle like the back of my hand- and I do- then you'll know when they get out. Just go there and wait," Ravick ordered. There was a moment of silence. "Dismissed."

Pile saluted his captain and pivoted to cross to the door. As he made the trip, Shadow spoke up again, "You suck. Y'know that? You absolutely suck! I never get to kill ghosts, and then you got my hopes up like that and all. You suck. I should've gone to work for that Pan kid…"

"Oh, and Pile," Ravick caught him as he reached the door. "You got off easy." Pile nodded and left. When he was gone, Ravick turned and smirked at the Shadow, "But not that easy." Shadow perked up. "Right arm."

"Aweso- wait a second. He's not a leftie is he?"

"Right-handed."

"Sweet! You rock!" Shadow dove into the floor and slipped out underneath the door. A few seconds later there was a blood-curdling scream down the stairs.

"Hey, no one ever said anything about torturing the messenger," Ravick smirked, pulling out his "periodical." But even as he did this he thought to himself, "Gods, I hope Sakon doesn't know about this…"

* * *

Selphie: Uh-oh! You're in trouble, Ravick! ...Anyhow, let's start from the beginning. Niko's dream sequence. That was random. I wrote it to see if I could get something else to flow afterward, but in the end it actually was a pretty cool idea. It's going to come into play later in the story (Hehe, teaser...). I certainly loved that mirror (as I whistle innocuously...).

Y'know, I had the whole dungeon planned out, but planning out and writing out are two different things. I could not for the life of me write them into the barracks, so I skipped the part in the hallway and up to the cheezy Monty Hall parody. And then came the dirty humor! And I think that was more or less it... Until the Ravick scene, which amused me. So, I guess there wasn't a lot to talk about this chapter.

In other news, my big toes are purple because my socks and/or shoes bleed when they get wet, and I was trekking through the snow today for an Envirothon field trip. Suckness. But then I went to tech (for Once Upon a Mattress) and I got to sew, which is cooler than I remember! Oh, and I'm having trouble getting those maps from my laptop to the comp because the floppies don't hold a lot. I did make a pic of a Garo though, and I have a really pretty one of Selphie that I'm working on. So, you guys can check that out soon if you want.

Okay, that's all. Happy Valentine's Day to all! KIT & KIR.


	21. Chapter 20

Selphie: Just over a month. Not too bad. Maybe I'll have another over the weekend if I finish hemming those costumes (loves being on costume crewfor this show!).

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: Though she does own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Daieno, Saeda, and Fiyero, plus most of those nice guard guys, like Pile, Dellius, and Norris. Also that Bag of Bones monster.

Goddesses: And Patrick owns Ravick and Shadow.

All: Read on.

* * *

* * *

Chapter 19: 

Bag of Bones advanced shakily but steadily and fairly quickly, eyes focused on Gremlin and Navi. "How Gremlin gets out?" Gremlin asked. He shifted his feet, making small squelching noises.

"Based on past experience, you have to kill this monster and then the water will stop and the boss key will appear," Navi answered. "Kind of strange, really, I've never had to do this with anyone but Link… Hey!" she called out two seconds later when she realized Gremlin wasn't standing next to her anymore. Hoping to attack the monster, he had rushed forward but found it ready each time he made the attempt to attack. It was able to anticipate his moves purely by sight: its eyes, despite providing one of its only two senses, were so effective that its physical reflexes were nearly instantaneous. And it didn't help to try to move behind it because the eyes could rotate in three hundred and sixty degrees.

Gremlin quickly gave up and climbed up the wall to avoid Bag of Bones' quick advances. If only it were a creature, Gremlin might be able to reason with it. Unfortunately it was no more than an incarnation of organic material imbued with a spirit, much like a Stalfos, only poorly constructed.

In the end all Gremlin could do for a few minutes was crawl around the walls of the room, looking for a weakness. It was tough because Bag of Bones was able to watch him constantly. "Hey, you! What was with ditching me?" Navi demanded once she'd caught up with him.

"Gremlin was thinks try kill monster be better," Gremlin answered. "But monster too quick."

"Well, your best bet would be to play to your strengths then," Navi responded.

"What that mean?" Gremlin asked.

"I mean what special abilities might you have that it doesn't?" Navi elaborated.

"Um… Gremlin haves clawses, but no cans get close 'noughs use," Gremlin replied.

"Well, what else do you have?" Navi asked.

"Gremlin climb walls, hear goods, smell goods," Gremlin tried to list off his talents.

"Those are only good for keeping away from that thing," Navi said.

"Gremlin cans sees darks," Gremlin added. "But not darks in room." Gremlin looked down at the floor of the room. It was covered in dirt, yes, but the water from the "doorway" and the constant moisture caused by the steam had turned most of it into mud. Gremlin looked at Bag of Bones. The monster would see it coming if Gremlin threw mud at its eyes, but…

Gremlin looked at the torches around the room. "It Gremlin put out torches, monster no see and Gremlin has a'vantage!" Gremlin exclaimed, dropping to the floor momentarily.

"What?" Navi asked confusedly, as Gremlin scooped up two handfuls of mud and climbed back up the wall with the other two. "What are you doing?"

"Gremlin have plan. Watches," Gremlin instructed as he crawled to the nearest torch. Upon reaching it, he used one handful of mud to smother the flame. The light in the room dimmed slightly, and Bag of Bones didn't seem to notice it. Gremlin moved on to the second torch and used his second handful of mud on it. Still Bag of Bones didn't seem to notice. It wasn't until the fourth and final torch was out that Bag of Bones recognized its dilemma.

Gremlin, who could see just fine in the dark, now leapt down from the wall and dashed up to the monster, slashing with his sharp claws at the membrane that contained the monster's bones. It was fairly tough and didn't always tear when Gremlin slashed at it. Finally Bag of Bones' nervous senses kicked in, and it knocked Gremlin back with its arm. One of its abilities as a sub-boss was to restore the torches once it realized it needed them. But the damage was done: Gremlin now knew the monster's weakness, and he continued to exploit it, attacking in the dark until the skin was gone and the bones couldn't stay together.

Link was standing outside the room, behind the waterfall. He had tried going back and pulling the lever in the other room to get Gremlin out, but it hadn't worked. Link feared the worst and couldn't stand the waterfall standing in his way. So it was to his great surprise when the flow of water suddenly ceased and he saw a chest materialize in the room beyond.

He entered cautiously, but it didn't take long for him to spot Gremlin and Navi rushing toward him. "Guys! What happened? How'd you get the water to stop?" Link asked, relieved that his friends were, indeed, okay.

"Link, you should have seen it! Gremlin was incredible! This monster like a bag of bones appeared when we pulled the lever and wouldn't let us out, but Gremlin came up with a strategy all on his own and killed it!" Navi explained excitedly.

"It nothing," Gremlin grinned, pleased by the praise.

"No, this was an advanced monster. There's a big key right there to prove that point," Navi pointed out, indicating the ornate chest in the middle of the room.

"Wow. That's incredible," Link replied, genuinely impressed. "I think the pirates could barely handle a couple kargoroks."

"It nothing. Gremlin was only wants stay lives," Gremlin replied. "We go 'head save friend now, yes?"

"Right, that's probably a good idea," Link agreed. They crossed to the chest first and retrieved the key, then exited the room and found, unsurprisingly, that the third waterfall was gone. Link stepped toward the ladder leading up to the first basement level. As he shifted his weight onto the grate, however, it gave way with a rusty crack. The pit of Link's stomach dropped as he started to fall, but Gremlin quickly grabbed him back.

"Talk about your shoddy building construction," Navi remarked as they stared down the gaping hole that now sat in front of them. A few seconds later they heard a clang and a shatter. Not lingering on it, Navi started upwards, "Let's move on."

"Wait a second," Link stopped her by holding up his hand and reaching into his pocket with the other. "That ladder leads down somewhere." Indeed, the ladder, unlike most of those he'd seen, led up and down from where he stood. It was more suspicious because the lower part would have been inaccessible if the grate hadn't broken.

"So? All I know is that the twins are up and we have the key to get them out," Navi replied.

"Yeah, but Navi," Link continued, opening up the map. "According to this map, we're on the bottom level right now." He pointed out their location on basement level two and the distinct lack of a basement level three.

"Why no put on map?" Gremlin asked.

"I dunno, but I wanna find out what's down there," Link replied, pocketing the map and, jumping to the ladder, descended into the dark below. Gremlin followed as soon as Link was out of range of his tail. Navi waited a few seconds until she was sure they weren't going to change their minds, sighed exasperatedly, and followed.

The ladder led some distance down a narrow tunnel. It was getting increasingly more difficult to see, and so it came as a surprise to Link when he ran out of rungs. "Hold it, Gremlin," he called out so that Gremlin wouldn't climb down on him. "I ran out of ladder."

"Can we go back then, please? Or do you like the idea of wasting time?" Navi asked.

"Waits!" Gremlin spoke up. "There floors under ladder and chest."

"I think a chest is good reason to finish exploring down here," Link said, climbing down to the bottom rung. He held on with both hands and asked Gremlin if it was okay to drop. When Gremlin answered in the affirmative, Link dropped to the room below. The second his feet touched the ground, Link was able to see, but that was because a ring of candles had lit up around the edge of the platform he was standing on. Link had indeed landed on a floor, but Gremlin had failed to mention the bottomless pit that surrounded it. And there was no visible way of climbing back up.

"Gremlin! Don't come down! There's no way back up!" Link called when he saw the creature dangling near the bottom of the ladder. He looked around and only found the large chest sitting opposite him on the edge of the platform, although he did notice that the floor was wet, probably from the water draining from above. '_I guess that's one way to get rid of the extra water…_' he thought, glancing toward the abyss beyond the edge. He crossed to the chest and couldn't think of anything to do but open it. At the floor of the chest were two items. He removed them both.

One was a pair of yellow boots, or perhaps boot covers (they looked like they would fit over his boots like the iron ones he'd found at Ice Ring Island), with little wings on the sides. The other was a book with an eye symbol on the cover. "Wait a second…" Link thought, taking a closer look at the cover. "I've seen this before… This is the same as that eye I got out of Seiryu's painting. But then why would it be here?" he wondered aloud. Link opened the cover of the book but was only met by ancient markings in the old language.

"Link! Are you almost done down there?" Navi called.

"Yeah! I'm done, but I don't know how to get out of here!" Link answered.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before jumping down that hole!"

Link growled quietly. '_I bet that's the point. Anyone who actually gets down here can't get out again with the treasure… brilliant really…_' Then he thought of something and realized he might not be trapped afterall. "Hold on, guys! Clear the bottom rung!" he called. He put away the book and boots and pulled out the grappling hook. He swung it around a couple times and threw it upward at the ladder. It caught. "Gremlin, make sure the hook doesn't come loose while I'm climbing!"

Once he'd reached the ladder again, Link rolled up the rope and followed Gremlin and Navi back up again. They climbed off at the second basement level so Link could show them what he'd found. "Hover boots!" Navi exclaimed when he pulled them out. She zipped right over and circled, examining them before exclaiming, "They really are hover boots!"

"What that?" Gremlin asked.

"These were the sacred treasure of the shadow people, the Sheikah!" Navi replied.

"I actually kind of figured that one out from this," Link pulled out the book and showed her the eye on the cover.

"Let me look inside real quick," Navi requested. When he opened it and showed her the ancient text, Navi seemed to become angrier, almost incensed. "I can't believe this!" Navi exclaimed. "This guy has some nerve!"

"What are you talking about?" Link asked.

"Don't you get it?" Navi asked. "Whoever Sakon got to attack the Sheikah must really have a grudge against them. He stole their treasure and Impa, the Shadow Sage's book!"

"This belonged to the Shadow Sage?" Link asked, examining it again.

"How can tell?" Gremlin asked.

"Because it explains how to make a pair of hover boots," Navi explained. "Impa is the one who developed them. This has to be the journal of her experiments, and this guy stole it!"

"Calm down, Navi," Link told her. "We're going to get rid of him anyway, just don't get so worked up. Now, what do these boots do?"

"This is one of the most useful tools you will ever find," Navi informed him. "The hover boots allow you to float across empty space for a few seconds without being subject to the effects of gravity."

"They let you walk on thin air?" Link responded in disbelief.

"In a word, yes. But I still would like to know how he got his hands on a pair. As far as I know, only one pair exists: the pair that Impa made and left in the Shadow Temple; the same pair that Link found and that should have been returned to the Shadow Temple when time was reset at the end of his ordeal as Hero of Time," Navi elaborated.

"Well, I'm not sure I'll be able to get them back to the Shadow Temple, but-."

"Oh, believe me, they're better off in your hands than the hands of that scoundrel!" Navi said. "Won't he be surprised when you show up with his plunder."

"Speaking of which, shouldn't we be moving on?" Link asked.

"Yes! We go kill bad man!" Gremlin replied enthusiastically. With that, they returned to the ladder and, this time, climbed upwards.

_

* * *

SMACK! "How can you sleep at a time like this!" _

Daena had just woken up and was offended that Daieno could sleep when she was so clearly in danger. To remedy this, she had smacked him in the arm to wake him up. "I can't believe you. I'm your sister. Don't you care about whether or not I'm safe? I could've been dead, and you're just laying there unconscious!" she harangued him.

Daieno opened one eye to look at her, realized his head hurt like hell, and let his eyes fall shut again. "You're still not waking up!" _SMACK!_

"OW!" Daieno woke up this time. She had smacked him across the head. "What was that for!"

"For not waking up! In case you've forgotten, our village got attacked and we were dragged off by ghosts! How do you sleep through something like that!" Daena demanded of him.

"Someone knocked me out! What's your excuse?" Daieno shot back.

"What makes you think I was asleep?" Daena retorted indignantly.

"Because otherwise you would have nagged me awake hours ago," Daieno replied smugly.

Daena's first reaction was outrage, but then she coolly rejoined, "And what makes you think your lazy butt would have waken up?"

They stared each other down for a few minutes. Finally Daieno sighed, "This is ridiculous. It's pointless to argue about this when we've already been kidnapped."

"You're still supposed to be the protector…" Daena grumbled, always hating it when her brother took the high road.

"Look," he told her. "If you want me to do something, probably the best route to take is not to make me mad."

"Why, because you'll be distracted?" Daena said sarcastically.

"No, because I might just leave your butt behind when I figure a way out." Daena closed her mouth. Finally Daieno had a chance to look around. They were in one of several cells opening into a very large courtyard. It was a very secure structure, it seemed. The walls were hard and the doors were sturdy and the floor was made of wide square tiles from wall to wall and even across the courtyard. Daieno could look between them up at a clear night sky with a waning moon.

They were on the western side of the courtyard. To the left the roof over the cells sloped up to a retaining wall. To the right, there was a wall with a large wooden door closing off the courtyard, and behind that was a tower. There was just enough light for him to see a dark figure in the light from a window.

Despite the size of the castle and the army that had taken them, there were very few soldiers guarding them. In fact, there were only two, and they were sitting off to Daieno's right somewhere, playing cards and clearly not paying attention to the conversation being held between their two captives. More troublesome, though, was the lack of other prisoners.

"Hey, Daena. You haven't been awake long enough to see them take away any other villagers, have you?" Daieno asked worriedly.

"No. Why would I have wasted my time on you if there were other folks around," Daena replied.

"We can't have been the only prisoners…" Daieno said to himself.

"Have you figured out a way out yet?" Daena asked.

"Nope, there doesn't seem to be any way out," Daieno answered.

"What? Well, that's just great. You're incredibly useful," Daena remarked cynically.

"Well, would you like to bust us out?" Daieno offered.

"Why should I? That's what you're for, although you obviously don't have any fear of death or else you would have found an escape already!"

"Get over it, they don't want us dead," Daieno shrugged, sitting down again.

"Oh? And how do you know that?" Daena asked.

"You would've been dead hours ago if they didn't want you alive," Daieno answered. "You'd've been dead years ago if it weren't for that twin bond thing…" he added under his breath.

"Then what are you proposing we do?" Daena asked, realizing he was getting comfortable again.

"Sit back and wait to see what happens," he answered, folding his arms behind his head.

"…You can't be serious!" Daena exclaimed.

"I can, and I am," Daieno responded. Daena gaped at him for a moment.

"ARGH!"

* * *

The first indication that our heroes had made their way back up to the first basement was a scratching noise that caught the attention of Lieutenant Pile, who was sitting in his room, nursing the empty socket where his arm should have been had Ravick's shadow not ripped off the limb. 

Pile, hearing a small sound in his personal lavatory one floor below him, initially ignored it as rats or something, but when it persisted he decided to investigate and maybe take a ghostly leak. When Gremlin suddenly popped off the shower drain, a grate like the ones they'd seen below, and burst in through the new hole in the floor, Pile certainly did empty his ghostly bladder, but he missed the toilet.

"Guys!" he screamed, but was quickly silenced when Gremlin shoved his head into the toilet.

"Come on, they might have heard that," Link said, quickly leading the way up a spiral staircase to Pile's room. They peeked into the adjoining bunkroom, were glad to see the soldiers were all asleep, and then crept quickly down the aisles of beds and out the other door. Back in the hub where the three bunkrooms met, they took the southern door to get back to the corridors they began in. To the right at the bottom of the stairs was the door blocking off the next part of the Phantom Citadel. They quickly unlocked this door and found a tiny room with a solitary ladder leading upwards. Link quickly pulled out the map, aware that the soldiers could come looking for them at any moment, and checked where this would lead.

"Let's go. There's a stairway on the other side of the room up here that will lead right to the twins," he said before taking hold of the rungs. He led them up and into another small room. Beyond the door there they found a large hall.

"This looks like the assembly hall," Navi commented. "The king used to hold court here, and sometimes balls too." She looked around a moment more. There was a set of grand double doors at one end of the hall, and the wall opposite it had several doors and a stairway that led up a wide tower. Opposite where they stood was a second set of double doors, though not quite as grand, and that was where they needed to go.

"Move, men! We've got to cut them off!" The three sets of eyes widened at the sound of Pile's voice behind the grand double doors.

"Go!" Navi squeaked in panic, following quickly as the other two dashed for the door on the other side.

Pile and his men flooded the room about two seconds later. "Dellius and Norris, check the stairs to the prisoner's cells!" Pile ordered. "Everyone else take a door and look for them. I don't want them escaping!"

Dellius and Norris quickly made for the doors and nearly broke them down when they burst onto the stairs. They glanced around quickly in the night air and made a dash up the stairs. They were outside and wrapped around the tower up to the second floor where they ended in a wide landing outside the courtyard the prisoners were being held in. When Dellius and Norris reached this landing, they had not found Link, Gremlin, or Navi yet and opened the door into the courtyard.

"Toma, have you guys seen any intruders come through here?" Norris asked.

"They were about yea and yea high with big pointy ears and a green hat," Dellius added, showing completely the wrong heights with his hands, tugging on Norris' ears, and lifting Norris' helmet to demonstrate the hat. Norris smacked his hands away and came close to clouting him across the head, but he doubted it would make any difference.

"No, we haven't seen anyone come through here, but could you let Captain know that the prisoners are awake?" Toma answered, he and his partner having been alerted to Daena's conscious state by her loud yell.

"Will do," Norris answered, closing the door. "Well, at least we seem to have cut them off," he said as they descended the stairs and reentered the hall.

Gremlin, Link, and Navi watched them close the door and finally breathed a sigh of relief. "That close…" Gremlin said. Gremlin was holding onto the wall above the door with two hands and his feet while he held Link up with the other two arms. They had climbed up just before Norris and Dellius had broken in.

"Let's get down and go. We still won't have much time," Link said. Gremlin dropped him gently to the ground and followed up the stairs.

* * *

Ravick was pacing nervously about his room, worrying whether or not Sakon had heard about their little slip-up. 

"Come on! Just go down to the holding block and wait for the freaks to show up and kill 'em on the spot!" Shadow urged. "You're the Captain of the Hylian military and you know shadow spells these people have never even heard of hearing of." When Ravick didn't respond, Shadow dove into the floor and popped up beside him. "Hello! Unheard of shadow spell speaking! Come on! I'll take one of them! It'll be fun! Like old times!"

"Sorry, Shadow," Ravick responded. "I'm ready to kill the kid, but I'm just nervous about Sakon. The original plan was to not let anyone find us. I'm pretty sure I won't get off easy on that one." As much as he loved killing, he was terrified of the power Sakon and the others had.

"All the more reason to go down there and wait them out! If he's dead before Sakon comes-."

A few seconds passed and Shadow didn't continue. "What was that, Shadow?" Ravick asked, turning to look at him. He wasn't there. Suddenly Ravick realized his torches were out and his room was dark. "Oh, Farore, help m-!" He was suddenly hit by an invisible force, but he was fairly sure of who it was. "Before you say anything-!" he pleaded.

"_Is there a reason, Mage, why we can't turn our back on you for one night and not have you screw up your duties!_" Sakon demanded, throwing Ravick against the wall.

"Sakon, I-!"

"_Did I not tell you expressly to make sure that the boy did not get in the way again?_" Sakon cut him off again.

"Funny thing you should mention that, because I just punished my lieutenant for not doing that," Ravick tried to force out a laugh.

"_That sounds like an excuse, Mage. Tell me, do I tolerate excuses?_" Sakon asked.

"No, you don't. And I'm sorry it happened, but-."

"_Zorry? What iz zis zorry?_" Dimitra cut in.

"_Sorry doesn't get rid of that boy, Ravick!_" Sakon shouted.

"Sir, I understand that the prime concern is keeping the Sheikah in custody. So if I can get rid of the boy before they can escape-."

"_Funny, I was just about to suggest the same thing,_" Sakon said without a trace of humor in his voice.

"Really? We must have some kind of mental connection going, right here!" Ravick pointed to his head and then to Sakon's head, which he actually couldn't see, so he was motioning to thin air.

"_Mage, I don't know that we've made it quite clear how our relationship works,_" Sakon said.

"_If you are going to work wiss us, you muzt do eczactly as we say or elze you and your men will be zee grave dust, non?_" Dimitra explained this to him once again.

"_And right now we are saying you must get this boy out of our hair for good,_" Sakon said.

"Right! I'm on it! I was just about to go when you called!" Ravick said. "Boy, will Shadow be happy. It's been a few hours since he killed anything."

"_JUST GO!_" He was smacked very hard in the direction of the door. Ravick continued in that direction when they were gone. Just as he reached the door, there was a knock from the other side. Ravick opened it since he was there and saw Pile on the other side again.

"Unless you're here to tell me that the boy has escaped from the sewers and your men have him detained somewhere, Lieutenant…" Ravick said. He paused a moment. "Why are you all wet?"

Pile glanced down at his wet self and suddenly forgot why he was there, "Well, you could have told me they were going to come out of my shower! I pissed myself when the four-armed one popped out! And then he gave me a swirly!"

"Do you mean to tell me they escaped!" Ravick yelled, grabbing Pile by the collar.

"I'm sorry, sir! They caught me by surprise! But we've searched from the main hall to the holding block, and they're not there, so if we guard every entrance to the main hall, we'll definitely catch them before they reach the Sheikah," Pile answered.

"Lieutenant, have you ever heard the expression, 'It's better to be proactive than reactive?'" Ravick asked, releasing his subordinate.

"No, Captain," Pile replied.

"That would explain why you are waiting for them rather than searching for them," Ravick answered, glancing to see that the torches were lit again.

"…Is that what you would like me to tell the men right now?" Pile asked, unnerved by the sudden calmness in his Captain's voice.

"No, Pile, I will do that myself if need be," Ravick answered, putting his arm around Pile's shoulders and leading him into the room. "Pile, I will admit, I have failed to be proactive with you all these years. But I'm about to fix that, Pile." He faced Pile and put his hands on his shoulders.

"Um… don't you mean Lieutenant, Captain?" Pile asked nervously.

"No, not anymore. Does the spot where your arm was hurt?"

"Not as much, sir…"

"We'll fix that then." Ravick snapped his fingers and suddenly Pile was screaming as a barrage of shadow spells were shot through him. Then he was gone and Shadow was standing in his place. Another snap of the fingers and Shadow was on the floor again. Ravick spun toward the balcony with a dramatic swish of the cloak. "If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself…" He stepped out the balcony and glided down to the courtyard the twins were imprisoned in, knowing that the boy was probably already there.

* * *

Selphie: Y'know, I had the idea for Bag of Bones months ago, and it seemed so very cool and I thought I'd write about it forever, but then I didn't... Something about it just didn't work.

I had also intended to make the scene where Link finds the hover boots a lot more dramatic, but, again, it just didn't happen that way. Oh, but that book. That book will come into play next chapter. I might just have to make Navi read it.

Daena and Daieno's scene. Foreshadowing. I'm setting them up for something. Just you wait to find out what.

Dellius and Norris just don't get along, do they? Hehehe... I've been wanting to have Link and Gremlin hide on a wall for a long time! That was funny! ...To me anyway...

Oh, and I know in the last chapter Ravick said something about Link being the Hero, but I realized (looking back at my outline) that he wasn't supposed to know who Link was. So, I went back and changed that (in my copy), and I'll go back and change it here at some later date. I tried writing it as Ravick knowing he's the Hero. He had to explain Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker to his Shadow. Then Sakon had to force him to kill Link. But then I thought, Ravick really wouldn't kill the Hero. He's better than that. But he'd kill Link if he thought he was some random kid, so that worked.

We got that mental thing, right here! (points between craniums) And I don't feel bad for Pile. Do you? I felt bad for Shadow because he didn't get to kill him before. Oh, and yay for dramatic cloak swishing! No story is complete without it!

In news completely unrelated to this story, next Thursday is opening night for Once Upon a Mattress! (sings) "We have an opening for a princess; for a genuine, certified princess. Tell us when you intend to end this dilemma we're in!" I'm _sooo_ excited! And we're almost done with costumes! I have a couple repairs to do and three more need to be hemmed. I brought two of them home so I could finish them. I love my sister's sewing machine. But because next week is Hell Week, I can almost guarantee I'll get the urge to write. This usually happens.

Oh, and I'm sorry I haven't posted the maps of devART, but they're too big to save to a floppy and move to the main computer (because our wireless router died and I can't get online from my laptop.) I'll try to figure something out, so eventually they should be up. Anyway...

KIT & KIR. Hasta, folks!


	22. Chapter 21

Selphie: Woohoo! Chappie up!

Din: Wow, I'll admit-

Nayru: I've been impressed-

Farore: This past month or two.

Selphie: Got everything balanced out with school, extra-curriculars, and hobbies.

Tingle: Only took you fourteen years...

Selphie: Well, better late than never, right?

Tingle: Unless late is _too _late.

Darunia: Do you enjoy taking up the readers' time with your babbling?

Goddesses and Tingle: It brings us immense joy!

Selphie: I need better co-hosts...

Din: CO-HOSTS!

Nayru: We created Hyrule!

Farore: What kind of demotion is that!

Selphie: The kind that you might be fired from. Daru, get on with the disclaimer.

Darunia: Disclaimer- Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Daieno, Saeda, and Fiyero, plus most of those nice guard guys, like Pile, Dellius, and Norris. Also that Bag of Bones monster.

Goddesses: ...

Selphie: Say it!

Goddesses: ...

Selphie: SAY IT OR YOU'RE ALL FIRED IMMEDIATELY!

Goddesses: Patrick owns Ravick and Shadow.

Selphie: Read on.

* * *

Chapter 20:

Link and Gremlin used the big key to unlock the large courtyard at the top of the stairs. It was the place the twins were being held. Link looked at his surroundings. It was so big, and the retaining walls rose so high. Except for the night sky staring down at them from directly above, Link would have thought he was in a huge room. "It looks more like an arena than a prison," Navi commented. Actually, the walls did seem to be set farther back than they should have.

"Who's there?" someone called from the side of the room. They looked to see two guards running toward them. Link drew his sword.

"Link, they're ghosts. What is a sword going to do to them that they haven't already suffered?" Navi asked.

"Uh…" Link instead pulled out his bow and shot each soldier with a light arrow. Luckily that seemed to do the trick.

"You coulds have warned Gremlin…!" Gremlin cried. Link turned to see him crouched behind him, covering and rubbing his eyes at the same time.

"Oh, jeez. Sorry about that," Link apologized, having forgotten what light did to Gremlin. "Are you okay?"

"Who's there?" This time the voice was a girl's. They looked over and saw someone in a cell in the wall. Link glanced at his friends briefly before crossing the courtyard to the center cell in the northern wall.

"Are you Daena?" Link asked, finding a girl with black hair and red-brown eyes.

"Who wants to know?" Daena asked coolly, backing away from the bars. Gremlin and Navi came up behind Link. "Gods almighty!" she screamed upon seeing Gremlin. "They've finally sent someone to kill us!" She ran back into the cell and tried to hide behind Daieno, which was difficult, seeing as he was sitting against a wall, asleep again. "Daieno! Wake up, you slug! If we're going to die at least be awake to watch it!"

"Die? What?" Daieno opened his eyes.

"Die? Wait a second, guys. We're not here to kill you," Link held up both arms defensively.

"Gremlin no hurts you. Gremlin here help too," Gremlin copied the motion with all four arms.

"Mother of all that is pure, what is that!" Daieno exclaimed, seeing Gremlin for the first time.

"Hey! Keep quiet or the guards will hear you!" Navi cut in on all of them. She flew into the cell to reason with the twins.

"It's another one of those freaky talking bugs! Daieno, _kill_ it this time!" Daena pleaded, trying to force her brother forward so she could hide behind him.

"I'm not a bug! I'm a fairy!" Navi cried indignantly.

"Hold on," Daieno said. "You are a fairy like the one our sister found, aren't you?" Navi bobbed in the affirmative. "Okay, the other one seemed to know a lot about what was going on," he continued, deciding to try to turn the tables. "It did save Saeda's life by leading her away from the village. Maybe you can answer where our friends and neighbors are."

"That would be best left for later. Right now we really need to get you two out of here," Link called through the bars.

"What's the rush?" Daieno asked.

"Well, those guards know that we're here, so they're likely to find us at any given moment. So the sooner we get out of here, the sooner you guys will be safe from harm," Link explained, glancing over at the door every few seconds.

"Well, that sounds like your problem, not ours really. How old are you anyway? You still look like a kid," Daieno said.

Link rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm here. Doesn't that say enough for you?"

"But what the heck is he?" Daena asked, still freaked out at the sight of Gremlin.

"He's fine. He's friendly. Listen, as long as you're here your lives are in danger," Navi explained.

"Well, duh. We were kidnapped," Daena replied.

"No, you don't understand," Navi said. She took a breath and decided to explain it all to them. "You are the last links in the ruling bloodline of an ancient tribe called the Sheikah. The ghosts that kidnapped you want you because you alone can open the gateway to the sealed kingdom of your ancestors."

The twins stared at Navi long and hard. "Do you understand the plight you are in?"

"Maybe we'll stay and take our chances with the ghosts…" Daieno said.

"Don't you get it?" Navi exclaimed. "Those ghosts-!"

"No! They- you have to be mistaken," Daena said. "We're not the rulers of some extinct tribe. We're the kids of the mayor of Kent Village. We have an adopted little sister-."

"Names Saeda!" Gremlin finished her sentence.

"…Yes. How did you know that?" Daena asked.

"She is sends us. She finds us when we is looking for you in burneded village," Gremlin answered. The words caught with the twins and they both looked at Gremlin with wide eyes.

"Whoa, wait! Burned village?" Daieno cut him off.

"As in our village?" Daena asked, not wanting to believe it.

"Yeah, it's… well, it's in ruins," Link replied. He watched Daieno's jaw go slack and Daena's eyes swell with tears.

"But what of the villagers?" Daieno asked, voice strained. Link, Gremlin, and Navi were all silent for a moment. "What happened to our family!" Daieno suddenly demanded.

"…Everyone was killed… except Saeda…" Navi answered quietly. Daena's hand went to her mouth.

"You… you can't be serious…?" she whispered.

Daieno shook his head. "They wouldn't joke about this," he said. "They couldn't."

"But- but surely not _everyone_. Someone _must_ have survived!" Daena's voice began to rise in denial.

"No one…" Navi shook negatively.

"But who could do such a thing! And why!" Daena demanded.

"I thought you said they hated 'Sheikah,'" Daieno said. "Why kill them but spare us?"

"I told you… you're the only ones who can open the kingdom beneath the waves," Navi answered.

"But why do they want to get down there?" Daena posed.

"It's not the ghosts," Link replied. "It's the man they're working for: Sakon. And he doesn't want to get down there, he wants to get up here. And he's going to whatever lengths he needs to to get what he wants."

"Have already made Gremlin friends to kidnap Gerudo lady. Killed Master Gomess, Gremlin friend," Gremlin added.

"Gerudo?" Daena asked.

"Another one of the ancient tribes. He needs the descendants of seven tribes in order to open the world below," Link elucidated.

"Jeez!" Daieno groaned, throwing his hands to the sides of his head in frustration. Daena was just standing there numbly. "And you swear you're the good guys in all of this?" They all nodded assuringly. Daieno sighed in thought. "Go ahead and rescue us then."

"We will try to make this a happier story once you're out of this cell," Navi said, returning to Link, who was handing the key to Gremlin. Gremlin moved toward the cell door, key in one hand.

"I'll take that!" Gremlin jumped in surprise as a black hand reached around him and snatched the key from his hand. Before Gremlin could turn to see who had purloined the key, gravity took over as the floor tile swung in beneath him.

"Gremlin!" Link exclaimed, watching his friend drop. He rushed over and looked down into the hole. It seemed to drop into a bottomless pit.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Was that your friend?" Link turned to see standing, wait, no… Hovering? Hovering in mid-air near the back of the courtyard was a man in black armor and cloak with a wide-brimmed mage's hat. He had a big grin on his face. He clearly had enjoyed watching Gremlin fall to his doom just then.

Navi was temporarily paralyzed from Gremlin's sudden departure, but she started when she heard a _scratch, scrape, scratch_ beneath them and saw the next floor tile tremble very slightly. She quickly flew to Link's ear and whispered, "Gremlin's okay. Focus on the villain!" Link looked to her curiously but took the advice.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced, being as you've intruded upon my home," the man said, spreading his arms on the last word and lighting the torches in the courtyard. In the light, though, it could no longer be called a courtyard. It was, indeed, an arena. On top of the prison cells were elevated rows of seats for spectators, who were all absent, save a black and shadowy person who looked just like the man in front of Link.

"The key!" Link exclaimed, seeing the small key in the shadow's hand.

"Oh, I see you've noticed my shadow," the man said, indicating the dark figure in the stands. "I like to call him Shadow. And you may call me (while you still live) Ravick, Captain of the Hylian military… circa 667."

"You're dead too?" Link asked, surprised. All of the soldiers had seemed ghostly and skeletal, but this man looked one hundred percent alive.

"Well, I was until your friend, Sakon, revived me," Ravick answered.

"Wait! Six sixty-seven?" Navi asked. "Are you the lieutenant that led the assault on Kakariko Village in 666?"

"Ah, my reputation precedes me," Ravick grinned.

"That would be why he burnt Kent to the ground. It's what he's good at," Navi spat.

"And killing. Don't forget killing. I'm good at that too," Ravick added. He drew out his long diamond sword, now clean of Escad's blood. "It's more than a hobby, really…" He dropped to the ground and rushed at Link with his sword raised. Before Link had time to pull out his sword, Ravick paused with an, "Oh!" He turned to wear Shadow was sitting in the bleachers. "Oy! Shadow! You remembered the sandglass, right?"

"Right here, boss!" Shadow answered, holding up a miniature hourglass.

"Good! Once I disarm him I want to try the head thing again!" Ravick replied. He turned back to Link, who was staring in disbelief, and dashed forward. Link's first instinct was to raise his shield, but there wasn't enough time. Instead, when Ravick swung his sword, Link tucked and rolled around behind him. Ravick was quick to turn around, but Link tried something new and swung his legs across the captain's shins. Ravick did fell backwards but used his sword like pole to vault himself backwards. This gave Link just enough time to draw out his sword and shield before Ravick was on him again.

They traded blows for a few moments before their swords became locked and they came face to face. "You're better than I thought. This'll be much more fun that that pitiful mayor," Ravick smirked.

Link was disgusted by his disrespect for Daena and Daieno's dead father. "You won't be enjoying yourself when I'm done with you." Their fight recommenced.

Meanwhile, Daena and Daieno watched in wonder as the young hero clashed with the ranking Captain. "Incredible. He's younger than us!" Daieno mused, amazed by Link's ability to hold his own and then some. _Scratch, scrape, scratch_.

"As Ronan would say, don't count your cuccos before they hatch," Daena said.

"Gremlin is hears this befores!" Daena squealed and jumped back behind Daieno again. They both looked at the floor, where the voice came from, and one of the floor tiles was scraping back and forth. "Helps Gremlin, please?" Daieno glanced back at his sister before kneeling and pounding on the floor tile until it fell inwards. Two seconds later Gremlin crawled in through the hole in the floor.

"Didn't we just see you fall through one of those?" Daieno asked.

"Gremlin goods at crawling," Gremlin replied, showing them the claws on one hand. "We gets out while they is fights."

"But how? The shadow took the key," Daena said.

"Gremlin think maybe pick lock," Gremlin responded, wrapping his arm around the bar near the door and sticking his finger in the lock.

Back in the arena, Link and Ravick were swiping their swords pretty evenly, but even if Link could get a blow in, Ravick's heavy black armor prevented him from dealing any damage. After one such block, Ravick landed a kick to Link's side and sent him sprawling. "You're not going to break through his armor! Gorons made it on Death Mountain!" Shadow taunted.

Link thought about this for a moment and smirked, standing to face Ravick. He blocked a few attacks with his shield and finally saw his opening. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of this before. Rolling around and swinging the sword upwards as he jumped to his feet, Link spun around to assess the damage he'd done.

At first Ravick didn't seem to realize what had happened. He spun around to have another go at Link, but found something felt insecure. Two seconds later his chest plate fell to the floor. "How the hell-!" He didn't have time to finish his thought because he had to use his diamond sword to block Link's new attacks.

"Whaddaya know? It works on dark nuts _and _nutcases!" Shadow laughed.

"You're supposed to be on _my _side!" Ravick shouted. It was then he realized how lucky he had been to have the armor. Not long after he leapt into the air and hovered above Link. "Okay, my head's been out of the clouds long enough for me to know a worthy opponent when I've met him," Ravick shrugged. "You're quick and nimble, and I'm, well-."

"An old fart!" Shadow called.

"Do I look old to you!" Ravick spun around on him.

"It _has _been a millennium," Shadow shrugged. Ravick turned back to Link.

"So how about we-." _Flrrrt!_ "SHADOW!" He turned just in time to see Shadow remove his hand from his armpit and look away innocuously. "…As I was saying… how about we level the playing field!" In the next moment, a number of the tiles fell in, leaving the playing field a series of platforms with yards of abyss between them. "Let's see you parry when the only thing to roll on is thin air!" He and Shadow seemed to think it an exceedingly funny zing and continued to laugh.

Link looked around. "Well, that makes things tougher."

"Hey!" Navi made her presence known for the first time since the battle had started. "Did you forget? You acquired a precious item in this dungeon!" Link's eyes widened.

"I did forget!" he exclaimed, reaching into his pack and removing the yellow-colored boots. Ravick glanced down as Link put on the boots for the first time.

This first warning that something had drastically changed was the sudden absence of laughter coming from the mage. The second was that even Shadow, who had been calling jeers throughout the fight, was full of tense silence. Ravick, who had entered the room bright-faced and grinning, now had his head lowered so that the brim of his hat hid his features.

"…Where did you find those?" he asked in a very low voice.

Link glanced down at the boots. "Do you mean the hover boots you stole from the Shadow Temple, the sacred grounds of the people you destroyed?" Navi spat.

"…Those are MY BOOTS!" Ravick shouted, hurling a random shadow spell at the lad.

"Whoa!" Link barely managed to dodge the spell, finding that the boots had very poor traction. "I found them in the basement, along with Impa the Sage's journal," Link answered, pulling out the book as well.

"You stole my hover boots _and_ Impa's book!" Ravick hurled another spell at Link.

"_Your_ boots?" Navi cut in. "What right have you to them?"

"Those were a gift! From a friend!" Two more shadow spells flew at Link, who was having many close calls. "GIVE THEM BACK!" The next thing Link knew, there was a ring of shadow magic with a diameter the length of the room, and it was closing in on him.

"Watch out!" Navi exclaimed. Link looked around for a break in the circle, but could see none. "Can you jump over that?"

"Yeah, right. Where am I going to jump?" Link remarked. He watched the ring, which was getting dangerously close dangerously fast, for a moment then had an idea. "Gods, I hope this works," he said, taking out the Cane of Somaria. He quickly created a block and climbed on top as the circle reached him. It passed through the block and underneath him.

"That was close- whoa!" Ravick threw another spell at Link while he was preoccupied. The jester-like Captain was clearly very serious at this point.

"You're going to give those back if I have to pry them from your cold dead feet!" Ravick shouted. The ring reconfigured into two linear arches from one corner of the room to another meeting in the middle. One stretched above Link to begin with, but they started rotating as the arches became proportionally bigger or smaller as the point where they met moved back and forth.

"Wuh-oh!" Link exclaimed, hopping down from the block when he realized the center would land on it. As the arch came toward him, he rolled across a chasm on the hover boots, surprised he had the courage to try it without thought. This went on for a few minutes before Ravick changed it to a big cross, which rotated back and forth to try to hit Link. Finally he just created another block and climbed on top to avoid it.

"Hey! You need to attack the Captain!" Navi said.

"Yeah, but he's hovering a good ten feet in the air. I can't reach him," Link answered. He looked for a moment at Ravick, who was floating back and forth a bit nearby. His side-to-side movement might be tough for the hookshot, but maybe he could wrap the grappling hook around him and reel him in. "It's worth a try," he said to himself, swinging the rope and taking aim.

Gremlin outburst in pain, "Owie!" and removed his finger from the lock.

"Did you get it?" Daena asked.

"No, Gremlin almost break finger," Gremlin replied, sticking the sore extremity in his mouth.

"Is there any way you could get the key back from that thing?" Daieno suggested.

Gremlin glanced out the bars toward the Shadow. "Gremlin not sure, but he tries." He crawled back in through the hole in the floor and reappeared in one outside and climbed the wall toward Shadow.

"Jeez… I don't think I've ever seen him this pissed off… That kid's got a lot of nerve taking those boots…" Shadow was mumbling to himself. Gremlin tried to sneak up quietly behind him and grab the key while the Shadow wasn't looking. He slowly reached one hand for the pocket. "What do you think you're doing?" Shadow's hand was wrapped around Gremlin's wrist.

"Oh, Gremlin is not sees you theres," Gremlin replied nonchalantly, flashing Shadow a smile.

"And I suppose you're just a run-of-the-mill cleptomaniaaaac!" Gremlin had grabbed hold of with two of his free harms and flung Shadow several feet away.

Gremlin followed quickly, making a grab for the key. "Gremlin take thats!" he said.

"Not so fast!" Shadow jumped back, holding out a shadow spell aimed right at Gremlin. Gremlin, seeing the ball of magic, held up all four arms defensively and backed away slowly.

"Easies… Gremlin is not wants trouble… Gremlin just want you and you master go deads," he said casually.

"Oh, well, that's no trouble at all. Let me just take my sword here and cut my throat," Shadow rejoined.

"That be greats!" Gremlin agreed.

"Not likely!" Shadow launched the spell at Gremlin, who dodged it deftly and began running toward Shadow. Shadow threw a couple more spells before Gremlin was finally on him. However, it was impossible to miss the creature when he was two feet away, and the last one hit Gremlin square in the chest. "Hah! Who's got the mad shadow skills?" Shadow boasted. Then they both realized, "It had no effect!"

"Gremlin was lives in darks. Likes shadow!" Gremlin elucidated, beginning to slash at Shadow with his long claws.

"What are you-? Get off!" The grappling hook had caught around Ravick, who Link now yanked toward him. Unfortunately, the mage escaped before Link could attack with the sword. Once free, Ravick flew back again and waved his arm. Instantly the tiles changed, and Link's block went plummeting, nearly taking Link if he had not run to the nearest tiles. And then the process repeated itself.

The good news was that Link had yet to plummet to his doom or touch any of the shadow. The bad news was that he was coming dangerously close each time. Ravick was clearly not the halfwit one would first imagine him to be. Each time Link escaped his spell, he learned from the patterns Link followed. He was also becoming anxious about retrieving the boots, and that seemed to make his attacks more erratic and unpredictable and all the more difficult to anticipate and evade.

"Hey! You can't keep this up forever!" Navi said.

"You're telling me," Link replied.

"You've gotta figure out a way to hold him in place long enough to pull your sword on him," Navi advised.

"Wrapping the grappling hook around his torso doesn't seem to be cutting it," Link agreed. A minute later he was on top of a block with his grappling hook out, ready to give it one more go. This time, however, his aim was off, and, instead of wrapping around Ravick's chest, the rope went high. Ravick's hands immediately went to his throat to try to disentangle the garrote. Link, on the other hand, seeing his opportunity, quickly tugged, and Ravick was pulled to the floor. "Say goodnight!" Link bid him, as he pulled out his sword and raised to strike.

"_Gasp!_" Ravick swung his sword against Link's. There was a sound of metallic splintering as the diamond and steel struck together, and then Link's sword flew out of his hand.

"Shoot!" he exclaimed, turning, without thinking, to go after it.

"You won't be needing that!" The rope, which Ravick had gotten from around his neck, was now wrapped around Link's throat. The hero turned to face Ravick, trying to hold the rope away before Ravick could tighten it. "Y'know, this could have ended with one quick slice of the sword if you hadn't stolen my boots," Ravick said, slowly pulling the cord.

"Get-! Off…!" Link gasped for air, tugging at the rope with both hands.

"I don't excuse thieves and villains! I-!" Ravick looked down at the hands struggling against the rope and saw it: the mark on Link's left hand. "The Triforce!" The rope went slack, and Link dropped to his knees struggling for breath, massaging his neck. Ravick stumbled backwards and dropped to one knee, gasping through shock. "You have the Triforce of Courage, the mark of the one true Hero!" Ravick lifted his sword and placed it blade down with his forehead resting against the hilt.

Link looked up, finally having caught his breath. "Wait a minute. You're acting like I'm royalty or something," he said, getting to his feet.

"Where I come from you would be equal to royalty," Ravick responded, standing and sheathing the sword. "You're the one that stuck the sword in Ganon's head, right?"

"Uh… yeah," Link replied, never having heard it put quite that way.

"And you're telling me the world doesn't worship you like a king?" Ravick asked, flabbergasted.

"Well, I don't think they really know that I did it-."

"Seeing as most denizens of the Great Sea don't really know that Hyrule exists," Navi continued.

"Oh… yeah, I forgot about that one…" Ravick said to himself. "Jeez… I can't believe I didn't see it, what with the green hat and all-." Then it hit him. "I almost killed the Hero!" he cried out in disgust of himself, nearly gagging.

Link raised an eyebrow at this. "…Are you telling me you're not evil?" he asked.

"Oh, gods, no!" Ravick exclaimed. "Gods, do you know how _bad_ evil is?" Link stared for a moment. "Oh, yeah, I guess you do…"

"Hold on a second! If you're not evil, how could you slaughter the entire Sheikah village?" Navi demanded.

"Ugh… that's the biggest regret of my life, let me tell you," Ravick said. He was solemn for a moment. "That attack was against my better judgment. King Johannes Tiberius Hyrule was crowned a year three years after the first attack on the Sheikah, the one by that psycho demon god-."

"Seiryu?" Link asked.

"You've heard of him?"

"Met him, sort of," Link shrugged.

"The Great Deku Tree wouldn't even talk about him," Navi added.

"Well, that right there's enough to tell you how cracked that egg is," Ravick continued. "Had an episode and attacked the people he created! Well, after that, Johannes, he was afraid that if any Sheikah mixed blood with the Hylians, Seiryu'd come back and attack them too. Not to mention the powerful magics Sheikah possessed, lemme tell ya! He thought they would rise up against him too. So, when he really had this war going, he told me to take my men and blot Kakariko off the map."

"I'd say you succeeded at that," Navi spat.

"Hmm…" Ravick shook his finger no. "Actually, I did what I could to save some of them. You know, of course, that there were some hiding in the Shadow Temple."

"No doubt."

"Well, you know it, and I knew it, but my men would have been none the wiser. I was about to take them home when… rrrgh, Marduke had to spot their tracks." It was clear he had some contempt for Marduke. "I wanted to leave them alone, but I obviously couldn't now that my men knew there were still Sheikah to be killed."

"The blood still stained the walls when the Hero of Time rescued the Sage of Shadow…" Navi said quietly.

Ravick sighed, "Yeah, Impa…"

"You knew her?" Navi asked.

"Well, obviously I didn't kill _all_ the Sheikah afterall," Ravick smiled wryly, directing their vision to Daena and Daieno, whose cell was being unlocked by Gremlin.

Gremlin realized their attention was on him and turned around. He hid the key behind his back. "Gremlin no kill Shadow. Gremlin swear!" he added holding up all hands defensively, unfortunately showing off the key in the process. Ravick looked down and noticed that the light cast his shadow on the ground.

"Oh, I didn't notice you were down there again!" Ravick said to the silhouette on the tile. He then made all the tiles in the room come back up and told Gremlin he could let the twins out.

Link looked back at Ravick for a moment, "So, you're saying you saved Impa, the Sage?"

Ravick nodded. "The day after the attack, my current, well… I guess I did just have Shadow kill him… well, myself and a few of my higher-ranking subordinates were searching the village for survivors, them to finish them off, and me to save them…"

* * *

Selphie: So... _I _didn't mean for it to run this long.I was having a hard time reaching my word count. Unfamiliar with my word count? Here, I'll post what I explained to SilverHikari in Chapter 14:

"_Yeah, for every story I have a wordcount range where if I don't reach the minimum or exceeds the maximum, the chapter doesn't go up. I have high standards for ToL- 4500-5500. You'd be surprised how many chapters I have to cut down though._"

Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to cutting this one down. It was a bit _too_ much over the word count to even bother. I had previously written that I thought Chapter 13 was my longest, but I'm almost positive that this one takes the cake: 5840. Notice how it's about 300 over my standard? Yeah. That flashback definitely took a lot more words than I intended. I actually never intended for there to be a flashback at all, but when I had Ravick telling the story it came out wrong. Then Pickle, the uber little sister of doom, suggested flashback, and here we are 1300 words later.

By the way, that scene makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :D Ravick's about 21-22, and Impa's about 18-20 in the flashback. By Din, could they be-? Well, I guess I'll leave that to your imaginations (and a spin-off I may write...). Oh, boy, do I abuse Pile in this story though.

Oh, right, there were 4000 other words in this chapter, weren't there? Ones that weren't flashback-ified. Poor Daena and Daieno. I feel bad about what must happen next chapter...But it must be done.

Goddesses, Tingle, and Daru: stare at her WTF, mate?

Selphie: If you don't know you'll have to wait until I update. Oh, did everyone notice the year that Ravick's troops slaughtered the Sheikah in? Oh, that was a year of great sadness and tragedy, not just for Hyrule. (Do I smell sequel? -sniffs like a bloodhound-) _Flrrrt!_ Oh, Shadow, you're so funny. But you really _are_ supposed to make fun of your master's enemies, not your master. Oh, right, the boots. They are very dear to Ravick, the reason for which will be explained in the next chapter, but I think you can all make a pretty goodguess.

Bonus points to whoever can tell me where I came up with the second part of that battle, y'know with the magic moving around in the arch, X, and circle. Gremlin's a smooth talker, huh? Hehe, it almost seems out of character, but you have to understand that he acts childish sometimes (well, most times), but he's actually very old, and he's not stupid. I never expected Ravick's final attack on Link to be a garrote. That was pretty spur of the moment. Oh, and don't ask where I came up with the king's name. It was kind of random. But I will have to use it in at least one of the sequels.

Do _you_ know how bad evil is?

By the way, Seiryu and Koboku still belong to Kearra (author of Children of the Gods, available here on who is not feeling well right now. So everyone go read her story and send her well-wishes. The prologue of said story explains that thing about first massacre and second massacre, yada, where Seiryu attacks his people, yada.

And that brings us full circle to the flashback. I hope you all liked this chapter, even though it was a little longer than usual. I know I lost a couple of reviewers in the months I had writer's block, but thank you to those who stuck around. (That doesn't count, don't you dare try to take down my story!) Drama season is over now, and spring break is coming up, so hopefully I'll have more time to work on this. I've been to see every show in the county so far, and so far they're all good. Children of Eden and Fiddler on the Roof were best. (I need to get Fiddler on DVD and Children of Eden's soundtrack...) Anyway, college touring coming up. Time to make the big decision. -sigh- Well, R&R and KIT & KIR. Hasta, folks.


	23. Chapter 22

Selphie: I'm back!

Din: From outer space?

Nayru: We just walked in to find you here-

Farore: With that sad look upon your face.

Tingle: I WILL SURVIVE! I WILL SURVIVE! AS LONG AS I KNOW HOW TO LOVE I KNOW I WILL STAY ALIVE!

Selphie: Not if you keep that up.

Farore: I think Gloria Gaynor just rolled over in her grave...

Nayru: Is she even dead?

Din: She said she would survive.

Selphie: Oi-ve... Anyway, note. Actually **VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!** I kinda decided I didn't like having the chapter end with the flashback, so I added three words to put Chapter 20 in word count range, and now the flashback is at the beginning of this chapter instead. Change has already been made. No turning back.

Darunia: Because she doesn't feel like it more than anything else.

Selphie: Just get on with the disclaimer.

Darunia: Disclaimer- Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Daieno, Saeda, and Fiyero, plus most of those nice guard guys, like Pile, Dellius, and Norris. Also that Bag of Bones monster.

Darunia: And Patrick owns Ravick and his Shadow.

Goddesses: Which-!

Selphie: SHUT IT! ...Read on.

* * *

Chapter 21

_Dusk was falling. The sky looked like blood above Kakariko Village and the air smelt of ash. The buildings were hollow or collapsed on themselves, blackened timbers crumpled to mounds. Several mangled, charcoal-colored masses littered the ground here and there; Sheikah burned alive. Several fires remained, sending black smoke circling into the air. Kakariko Village, now a pile of cinders, was a veritable shell of its previous serenity. Darkness was falling fast, and the group had found nothing to suggest any life remained._

"_Lieutenant! Come on! There's nothing left!" Pile called._

"_Yeah, let's go, Rav! The pub's a-callin'!" Norris added. Privates Pile, Norris, and Dellius were standing at the smoldering town gate, waiting for their lieutenant, Ravick, to call it a day._

_The young man with jet-black hair and the standard GI uniform turned back to his comrades/subordinates. "Not until I've covered every inch of this town!" he returned._

"_Ravick, there's nothing left!" Norris reasoned._

"_We killed everything from the field to halfway up Death Mountain Trail! You did good!" Pile put in._

"_Yeah, let's hit the tavern and hold a toast!" Dellius cried._

"_To Ravick! The greatest lieutenant in the Hylian military!" they all shouted._

"_And may he become the greatest captain in the history of Hyrule!" Dellius exclaimed._

"_For he's a jolly good fellow! For he's a jolly good fellow! For he's a jolly good fell-ooow! Which nobody can deny!" they all sang._

"_You go on ahead. I'll catch up when I'm done here," Ravick waved them on._

"_Oh, come off it! You take this too seriously!" Norris egged him on._

"_Yeah, what's one life, anyhow?" Dellius asked. Ravick ignored him as he lifted a broken rafter and moved aside the debris under it._

'A trap door?_' he thought, kneeling down to lift the handle._

"_Holy Triforce!" he exclaimed, despite himself, dropping the door._

"_Ravick! What happened!" the men called, starting toward him._

"_Nothing! Don't worry, just a mangy dog. You know how they freak me out," Ravick motioned for them to stay back._

"_Best come away then," Pile suggested._

"_No, I'll be fine. Just get going, guys. I just wanna search one more pile," Ravick answered._

"_All right, fine. But if that tavern mistress asks where you are, I'm not gonna cover for you," Pile replied._

"_Heh, don't do me any favors!" Ravick forced a laugh as the guys headed toward the field and town to make merry. He watched until they left his sight and then turned back to the rubble and lifted the trapdoor once more. There, crouched in the darkness, was a white-haired young lady, not much younger than himself. When he opened the door she repositioned herself into a fighter's stance._

"_Don't come any closer!" she warned him._

"_Hey, it's okay. Come on out," he said, holding one hand up defensively. She raised her arms protectively. "Don't worry. I'm here to help," he said._

"_I find that hard to believe," she retorted. Her red eyes were filled with mistrust. He looked closer and saw that her face had been burned a bit near her eyes. Otherwise she was mostly unscathed. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just," he reached one arm in to help her out. "Just come on out of there, so I can-."_

"_Heee-ya!" she let out a mighty war cry and grabbed his arm, tossing him back from the hole in the floor._

"_Gah!" Ravick screamed in surprise as he went sailing through the air. He landed on his back and had the wind knocked out of him. The next thing he knew, she was standing above him with a large plank in hand. "Ah! Oh, please spare me, Din. Please guide me, Nayru. Please protect me, Farore," he quickly prayed._

"_Are you sure you're a Hylian soldier?" the girl asked, lowering the plank slightly._

"_Lieutenant Ravick at your service!" Ravick introduced himself, saluting and flashing a big smile, hoping she'd see he meant her no harm._

"_Hmph, don't you mean the _king's_ service?" she asked, raising it once more._

"_Kinda-sort of," he replied. "You see, he told me to burn down your village and kill everyone in it, but already I've spared you. See? I'm not as loyal to him as you may think."_

"_Unless this is some ruse to get me to lower my guard," she rejoined._

"_Oh, I'm by no means that clever, heh heh," he laughed. "…Yet! I _am_ working to improve that."_

_She stared at him for a moment. "King Johannes must be short-handed if he's hiring clowns like you to run his armies," she said._

"_Hey, I resent that!" he blurted._

"_I bet. Now the only dilemma for me is what I should do with you now," she said. "The most obvious choice is to-."_

"_I vote for the second most obvious choice," Ravick cut her off._

"_Well, the most obvious choice was to bash your head in, but the second most obvious was to bash your head in and then chop off your-."_

"_Is there an obvious choice that doesn't involve me dying?" Ravick asked._

"_None that will benefit me," she replied._

"_Look, I swear I won't tell anyone you're here," he pledged._

"_Uh-huh, like I'm going to fall for that one," she said._

"_No, really! I-!"_

"_Hey, Ravick!" Ravick's eyes widened as he heard the sound of Pile's voice._

"_Get down!" he grunted, kicking her in the shins. She let out a small yell as she fell, but he quickly tossed a few pieces of debris on top of her just before Pile entered the village._

"_Ravick, what're you doing?" Pile asked, crossing the village toward him._

"_Hey, Pile," Ravick greeted him as nonchalantly as he could muster. "Heh heh, just… just what are you doing back here?"_

"_Well, I decided it wasn't fair for us to go have a good time while you stayed here working," Pile answered. "And I figured if I work hard now, then by the time you're captain I'll be up for lieutenant, huh?" he elbowed Ravick playfully as he reached the place where he stood. Ravick laughed at this uncomfortably. "So, where do we start? Was this the one you wanted to look at?" he asked, moving toward the place where he had found the girl._

"_Oh, uh, yeah! But I'm already finished. I was just about to follow you guys," Ravick replied. "So, now we can go and just not look at anything around here. Sound good?" he asked._

_Pile half nodded his head and then spotted the pile that Ravick had hid the girl under. "Wait, what's that?" he asked._

"_What's what?" Ravick replied, stepping in his way as Pile made a move toward it._

"_There. Is there something under that wreckage?" Pile inquired, trying to move around Ravick._

"_There? No, I already checked there," Ravick said, trying to divert him._

"_No, really! I think there's something there!" Pile exclaimed, moving quickly toward the girl. Ravick tried to stop him but groaned._

"_Oh, please forgive me…" he muttered, lifting a broken beam._

"_Are you sure you checked this pile?" Pile asked, stooping to look._

"_Yes, I'm sure," Ravick answered, swinging. Pile went out cold. "Thank Nayru he won't remember any of this…"_

"_Did you just knock him out?" the girl asked, shoving the rubbish off of her. Ravick nodded solemnly. "Oh, boy, does that king have bad judgment of leadership qualities."_

"_Because the war wasn't enough indication?" Ravick queried. She smiled despite herself. "I don't know how long he's going to be out. Head for the Shadow Temple. No one's going to head there for a while," he instructed her._

_She eyed him suspiciously for a moment. "How do I know you're not going to tell anyone where I went?" she inquired._

"_Why don't you ask him?" Ravick jerked his thumb in Pile's direction. She considered this for a moment and nodded, starting off in that direction. "Hey! Can I at least know who not to tell them I let go?" he called after her._

_She paused and turned. "Impa. My name is Impa.

* * *

_

By the time Ravick had finished telling this story, Daena and Daieno had been released, and they and Gremlin had now gathered about to listen. Daena had exercised what she thought to be an incredible amount of patience, but when everyone else took a moment to ponder the captain's story, she could contain herself no longer.

"You really expect us to believe you led the attacks that destroyed two villages but still had the 'heart' to spare this 'Impa?'" she demanded.

"Gods, Daena, will you give it a rest!" Daieno outburst, tired of his sister's constant hostility.

"No! I can't believe what pushovers all of you are! He destroyed our village, and you're all just standing around listening to this bedtime story!" she queried.

You definitely have Impa's blood in you…" Ravick commented. Daena stared at him, amazed that he had the audacity to speak so calmly in the middle of her rant. "I understand that being estranged from the place of your ancestors has left everyone in this world with nothing to tie them to Hyrule, but if you knew the land in which your forefathers lived, I wager every one of you would look at all of this with more acceptance."

"You kidnapped us!"

"I'm letting you go."

"WHAT!"

"Sakon and them won't like it, but Hero here's got the Triforce on his hand. Sakon and Dimitra are scary, but I ain't messin' with a mark of the gods themselves. That's just begging to be smote. …Smote? …Smitten? Smited? …Damn, I never was good at grammar-."

"What is the matter with you!" Daena shouted. "After all the suffering you've caused, you're standing here debating GRAMMAR!"

"Daena, you are the most single-minded person on this planet!" Daieno cut in again. "He regrets what he's done? Isn't that enough?"

"No! Don't you care about what he took from us?" Daena posed.

"He spared our lives," Daieno replied.

"He was going to sell us out to some other freaks!"

"But he didn't."

"HE DESTROYED EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING WE EVER CARED ABOUT!"

Daieno was silent for a moment. "I'm still here, thank you." His sister stared at him for a moment before he walked away and stood on the other side of Link and Gremlin. Daena watched him do this and finally growled and threw her hands up in resignation.

"…Wow… awkward…" Ravick said a few seconds later. "Uh… what was I saying? Something about Sakon and them?"

"Wait a second! Did you say Sakon and them?" Navi interrupted suddenly.

"Yeah, there's Sakon, Dimitra, Mace, and Curt," Ravick replied.

Link and Navi looked to each other, eyes wide. "That means they are still down there…!" Link voiced both their thoughts.

"All four of them, not just Sakon," Navi added. "Ravick, they must have offered you something in exchange for attacking the village. What was it?"

"Well, they brought me back to life, for one thing. I'm supposed to be dead, remember?" Ravick answered. "Do you guys know something I don't?"

Navi looked back to him. "I don't suppose Hyrule and Termina had much contact in your time, did they?" she asked.

"I might have, but you tend to lose some things when you die," Ravick said.

"Well, those four were about the worst villains in all of Termina's history!" Navi explained.

"What! What did they do?" Ravick asked. Navi quickly explained the crimes that each one had committed, and at the end Ravick was disgusted. "Whoa, these are some seriously evil people! I knew they were a little rough around the edges, but-."

"Navi," Link said, eyes widening as he suddenly realized something. "If they have the power to revive a person from the dead, I've got a bad feeling they probably know the Elegy of Emptiness backfired!"

"Do _you _know what they're talking about?" Ravick asked Gremlin and the twins.

"_I do!_"

"Aw, cr-!" Ravick was suddenly smacked across the middle so hard that he flew back a few feet and landed on his back.

"What in the-?" Link exclaimed, starting toward Ravick.

"-Crap!" Ravick gasped, as the wind was knocked out of him. Suddenly he was struck again and again until he landed on his face a few feet away again. "Oh… that blows…" he wheezed, pushing himself up to his hands and knees. He spotted Link and the others approaching and held up one hand to stop them. "No! Don't come any closer! You guys gotta get out of here!" He flew upwards as though someone had kicked him in the gut.

"What's going on?" Daieno asked.

"That's what I'd like to know," Navi agreed.

"Don't worry about it! Drop through the hole in cell seven. Follow the tunnel until you get to the dock-!" Ravick was hit once more.

"_Decided to help the good guys, then, have you?_" the voice came again.

"Who was that?" Link asked.

"Gremlin know voice!" Gremlin declared. "Is bad man Sakon!"

"_Trés bon! 'E iz not az stupid az 'e seems,_" said a woman's voice. "_Unlike a certain mage we know!_" Ravick was attacked again.

"Like I haven't heard that before, Dimitra," Ravick groaned.

"No way!" Link and Navi exclaimed.

"_Believe it, Hero!_" Sakon shouted. "_Yes, I know who you are. You've been quite a nuisance throughout this plot._"

"You're welcome," Navi replied.

"_You hear that cheek? Hit him too, man! Hit him too!_" came yet another male voice.

"_Shut your bouche!_" Dimitra ordered.

Link thought for a moment. "Wait a second… why don't you attack me too?" he asked.

"_Damnez-le, Curt! You aliboron!_" Dimitra shouted.

"You can't, can you?" Link asked.

"_Oh, aren't you the smart one,_" Sakon said sarcastically. "_We've actually tried that already, found something rather queer._"

"_Az it turnz out, someone likes you, boy,_" Dimitra explained.

"_At least enough to be giving you some kind of magical protection,_" added a fourth voice.

"_Great, the gang's all here,_" Sakon proclamation.

"Protection? Who could be protecting me?" Link asked the fourth voice, whom he assumed to be Mace.

"_Hell if we know!_" Curt declared.

"_Will you two stop telling him so much!_" Sakon yelled. "_Listen up, boy! We're getting out of here; your little friend has ensured that much. But if you don't stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, I'll start making room in my busy schedule to attack other certain people. Certain people on a certain pirate ship in a certain Port of Sun right at this moment, including a certain princess._"

Link's eyes widened, but Navi stepped in, "He wouldn't dare! He needs her in order to open the gateway. He needs her alive."

"_Oh, zere are worse sings zan dying, let us assure you,_" Dimitra said. "_We 'appen to know from expérience zat eczisting az a soul iz a far worse punishment zan la mort._"

"_Though none of this would be a problem if our lackeys would just do their jobs!_" Sakon shouted, Ravick being attacked once more.

"Hey! If you'd told me in the beginning that you were evil, I would have turned you down to begin with," Ravick retorted. "Killing the Hero isn't worth living again."

He was hit once more, as all four souls started chuckling. "_I don't suppose he would be smart enough to realize it, would he?_" Curt laughed.

"Realize what?" Ravick asked.

Mace guffawed for a moment. "_You're not actually alive, genius!_" he said.

"What!" everyone else present exclaimed.

"What do you mean 'he's not actually alive?'" Daena asked. "He's solid as a rock, had the breath knocked out of his lungs like ten times in the past twenty minutes, and led an attack on my village. He sounds pretty alive to me!"

"_Wrong again. He's like a friggin' puppet,_" Curt said. "_Our magic's the only thing keeping him standing upright._" They knocked Ravick across the back of the knees, causing him to fall flat on his face. The souls laughed again. Ravick didn't get up.

"Do I have a soul?" he asked the floor.

"_Yeah, you have your soul at least,_" Mace replied. "_Pulled it right out of the sap it was recycled to. No great loss. Didn't have anyone that cared about him anyway._"

Ravick still didn't move. "And my men?"

"_We'll put them to good work right as soon as you join us down here,_" Sakon spoke up again. "_If you're pathetic and you know it, whistle a tune…_"

"The Elegy of Emptiness again!" Navi exclaimed. They heard a soft whistle coming from Ravick. _BAADBAF _"Ravick, don't give in so easily!"

"Wait, Navi! That's not the Elegy," Link said. _BAADBAF _He wasn't sure what song it was, but it wasn't the Elegy of Emptiness.

"He's trying to block them out by whistling something else," Daena observed.

"I feel like I know this song," Daieno mused.

"Freak..." Daena muttered.

"You realize I'm trying to hold them off for you guys to escape, right?" they heard Ravick say suddenly. He whistled the nocturne again. "Keep the boots, Hero. There are no better feet for them to grace." _BAADBAF_ "Sheikan heirs, I am terribly sorry for what I did to your village." _BAADBAF_ '_Impa… I'm sorry for what I did to your descendants… I-_.' Unfortunately, he forgot to whistle while he was thinking, thus allowing the souls the break they needed to get in and make him do their bidding. "Gah-!" _A…BA…FAD…B _No more sound came from him.

"…Ravick?" Link asked. Just as he stepped forward, the body- not Ravick's own- dissolved from their sight. Without a soul to hold it together, the artificial husk disintegrated.

"…He's gone? Just like that?" Daieno asked.

"His soul is trapped in Ikana now…" Navi said softly.

"He keep Selphie and Master Gomess companies?" Gremlin asked.

"Supposedly," Link answered. They were jolted from this reflection by a sudden pounding on the door at the far end of the room. "The soldiers…!"

"We're coming, Captain! Don't you worry!" Two seconds later at least fifty soldiers were standing at the other end of the room. "Where's the captain?" Dellius asked.

"Uh-oh…"

"They killed the captain!" Norris shouted. "Kill them!" As the soldiers dashed toward the group, Link and the others ran for the cell Ravick had pointed out to them. They didn't have to worry about finding the hole he was talking about: the cell had no floor; it _was_ a hole.

* * *

_It didn't take very long for Ravick to join them in the Core Custody Chamber. Sakon, Dimitra, Mace, and Curt were still grouped around Selphie's sash. As soon as the flash from Ravick's arrival dissipated, the group of villains surrounded him. BAADBAF Ravick was still whistling. "Nocturne of Shadow… I suppose now zat we know zee truth we shouldn't be too surprized," Dimitra said._

"_Bite me, bitch. Just tell me one thing," Ravick said, standing to face them all. "Would you actually have revived all of us?"_

"_Pff… like we have the power," Sakon replied._

_Ravick nodded his head. "Guess I should have known," he said. Selphie, who was still camped out underneath the table several hours after the souls' chat with their leader hopeful, crawled part way out to investigate the conversation taking place nearby._

"_So what now? An eternity trapped here with you?" Ravick asked._

"_Hardly. Even if you managed to tough it out, you'd probably escape when our master came for us," Sakon told him._

"_But you won't see zat day," Dimitra said, stepping forward with her palm out. Suddenly a beam of energy shot out at Ravick, causing him to contort in pain. In his writhing, Ravick caught sight of Selphie in the corner of his eye, which subsequently widened._

"_Sel-!" But he was drawn into the energy beam before he could continue. A few seconds later all traces of the mage were gone. At that point Dimitra rounded on Sakon, who was flexing his hand after having taken Ravick._

"'E was supposed to be MINE, Sakon!_" she hollered forebodingly._

"_Calm down, Dimitra," Sakon replied coolly._

"_We were to divide up zee powerz from zose we kill!" Dimitra persisted. "You got zee bat man, non? Zee next one should 'ave gone to me!"_

"_Yeah, what's up with that, Sakon?" Curt asked._

"_Oh, please, people. I'm a gods-damned thief. What do you expect?" Sakon asked, waving it off._

"_Can't beat that logic," Mace shrugged._

"_I wanted zat power," Dimitra growled, curling her fists and stepping toward Sakon threateningly._

"_Oh, please. You act like I did it to betray you guys," Sakon said, crossing his arms and matching the motion._

"_I did not say anysing about betrayal, but zat sounds like a guilty conscience," Dimitra sneered._

"_Do you have something to say to me?" Sakon posed. The two advanced a few more paces before Curt and Mace got between them._

"_Whoa! Hold on a second, there, guys!" Curt said, facing Dimitra._

"_We just lost two more heirs. There's work to be done. We can't fall apart now," Mace added, putting one hand against Sakon's chest in order to hold him back._

"_Just cool it, okay?" Curt continued. "We're all evil here, and we need each other to get out, right?" he looked at Dimitra._

"_Right?" Mace asked Sakon. Sakon and Dimitra relaxed their stances, and the Goron and Zora moved to either side of the little powwow._

"_Typical of someone 'oo only sinks wiss 'is pénis…" Dimitra muttered._

"_Yeah, yeah, hormonal rage and so forth," Sakon waved his hand and turned away. Dimitra was left seething between Mace and Curt.

* * *

_

Link, Gremlin, Daena, and Daieno had each fallen from great heights a number of times before. Link had been smacked into two separate towers and fallen from them, and Gremlin still managed to find the broken stalactite and fall from the high-ceilings of the caverns. Daena once broke the balustrade of their loft and fell to the living room below, landing safely on a couch. Daieno broke his arm when he fell off their rooftop. He was up going to jump on a dare but cuccoed out. He fell because Daena pushed him. Navi could fly. She rarely fell.

The group fell two stories, which, for them, wasn't as bad as it would have been for other people. They landed relatively unscathed and didn't worry about the soldiers following them down the hole. One of the men up there was holding everyone back on the argument that such a long fall would kill them, to which another soldier yelled that they were already dead. Link and the others did, however, expect the soldiers to go the long way at least, which still might put them at the dock ahead of them, so they charged off. Unfortunately, they had turned the wrong way and only found their selves face to face with a large fan in the wall.

"Hey! Haven't we been here before?" Navi asked. She received her answer when the blade began to rotate.

"Oh, crap…" Link muttered as they were all hit by a very powerful blast of air. There was no fighting the wind; they were all forced back by it. Link and Navi were driven all the way down to the opposite, where they were plastered in the exact same spots they had been pressed against earlier. But this was only because they could defy gravity: Navi could fly, and the hover boots still on Link's feet glided him right over the pit in the floor.

The others were not so lucky.

As soon as Gremlin felt the floor disappear from beneath his feet, his instincts took control, and he grabbed for the wall with his claws. He slid down a few feet simply from the surprise but was able to hold on to the wall. Once secure, he looked upward to see when the wind would stop. What he had failed to take into mind was that everyone else would reach the pit as well. So he was not expecting it when Daena and Daieno began plummeting off the edge as well.

This all happened in the space of a very few seconds between the fan blowing, Gremlin falling and grabbing the wall, and the twins following. Daena and Daieno, with no way of preventing their fall, were both screaming when gravity took over. Fortunately, Gremlin needed less time than that to reach out and grab their arms.

Unfortunately, however, he needed more strength or another pair of arms. They hung there for a few seconds, Gremlin trying to climb and hold them both at the same time. "What's going on?" Daena asked, trying to pull herself up and get a hold on the arm Gremlin was holding her by.

"Too… heavies…" Gremlin grunted. "Gremlin can't climbs…!" He refused to let go of them though, and they were both struggling to pull them selves up. Daieno winced in pain as Gremlin's claws dug into his wrist. Then the revelation hit him.

"Daena's lighter than me," he said. Daena looked over at him and he looked back. There was something in his eyes that she didn't like. Her identical eyes widened the moment she identified it.

"Daieno, no!"

He let go of Gremlin's wrist.

"Noes!" Gremlin exclaimed, trying to grab again. Daena was the one who succeeded in catching him again. She held Gremlin's wrist with her left hand and Daieno's with her right. Gremlin's claws were beginning to dig into the left as it began to slip.

"It's your job to take care of you and Saeda, now," Daieno told her.

"You can't do this, Daieno!" Daena shouted.

There was silence.

"I can, and I am." He fell.

"DAIENOOO!"

Nothing beyond that requires elaboration. Gremlin carried a struggling Daena out of the pit, and she was prevented from jumping when the fan blew them both back to join Link and Navi. A brief explanation followed, after which Navi reminded them that they needed to escape quickly. They reached the docks before the soldiers and escaped the Phantom Citadel.

Daena cried the whole way.

* * *

Saeda heard someone calling her name and woke up. Lifting her head from the futon, she cocked her head to one side and listened. Her eyes widened, and she crept up the ladder and opened the window, standing on tiptoes to peek her head out and lean her ear toward the island.

"Saeda! Get away from the window!" Medli, who was a light sleeper, exclaimed, waking a few of the others, including Fiyero, who immediately joined Medli in flying up to the window where Saeda was standing and waiting for the little girl to comply. "Saeda?" Saeda didn't move. Fiyero flew closer.

"Saeda, have they told you?" Fiyero asked, referring to the trees he knew she was listening to.

"…" Saeda slowly turned around, eyes downcast.

"What did they say?" Fiyero asked as everyone joined them up there.

"…The others…" she said, avoiding looking up at him.

"Are they okay? Did they make it out?" Tetra asked.

"Yeah, Link, Daena, they're okay…" Saeda replied.

"Oh, thank gods!" Tetra breathed. "They should be back before sunrise."

"Yeah, it's still night, and I'm tired of being woken up," Komali said. "No offense." Saeda nodded.

"Back to bed, mates," Tetra instructed, and they all followed her back to the corner where they were all camped out. Saeda laid back down, thinking about what she had not told them: Daieno was dead.

* * *

Selphie: Holy mcfnutch! Say it ain't so! 

Goddesses: It ain't so?

Selphie: Liars! I had to do it, folks. It was in the plan from ToL's very birth,in those humble days when it was just an outline all the way back in July 2003...

Darunia: (sniffles) They grow up so fast! (blows his nose)

Tingle: ...That's more than a little gross...

Selphie: Yeah... pretty much this whole chapter was just leading up to that point. Especially Daena's psychotic anger management skills. I love, by the way, learning how to say "dammit" in French. Especially since I take Spanish. I'm trilingual in naughty words!

By the way, I know I've used them in the story before, but all of those notes when people are whistling and stuff are 100 accurate. I taught myself how to play all of Legend of Zelda's ocarina songs back when I was like 10 (and still play them on the kiddy piano in the church nursery...), so I learned the note for each C button. You can whip out a guitar or keyboard and try it out for yourself. I guarantee they'll be right if you can just work out the rhythm.

Thing with Sakon and Dimitra? Spur of the moment. But I liked it. Sakon's a total asshole. They all should have seen it coming. I still love Mace and Curt.

Was Daieno's death really cheezy? I kind of think so, but that's still more or less the way I've pictured it since I was 15 (and I'm almost 18), except that it was originally Medli not Gremlin. Saeda's thing was to reach word count.

Well, that's all story-wise. **HOWEVER**, if you would like to look back through the Dusk Caverns and/or Phantom Citadel and not be totally confused I NOW HAVE MAPS POSTED ON MY DEVIANTART PAGE! Go there, check them out, and be enlightened! I also posted sprites of all the major characters to-date. There has also been added a picture of Daena, Saeda, and Daieno and Tatl the fairy (from Majora's Mask). So, if you're interested, go check them out.

Not much else to report. KIT & KIR. Hasta, folks!


	24. Chapter 23

Selphie: I know what you're thinking.

Din: Kill the author?

Selphie: Something on those lines. But before you pull out your pointy things, please hear my tale of woe.

Tingle: Once upon a time there was a girl who loved to write. She kept all her stories in her precious laptop, to which she made love regul-!

Selphie: Stick to the script! What are you, a meshuggener?

Tingle: Sorry! I mean, precious laptop... um... so yeah, she and the laptop spent many carefree hours together, including halfway through May when she began to work onChapter 22 ofher fanfiction LoZ:ToL.

Nayru: The chapter was almost done, when onedaythe laptopwas all like, "Grr! I hate you!" and wouldn't shut down. So she decided she would let the laptop rest a couple days. Only when she went to turn it back on, it wouldn't boot.

Farore: The girl took the laptop to her uncle, the computer genius. His diagnosis: crashed hard drive. Did the girl have back ups? No, she was going to do that after the laptop started not feeling well. So all the stories and such that she had written were lost forever.

Tingle: Happy end!

Selphie: Not happy end! I lost every story I've kept on there, not to mention pictures I've drawn, and that chapter I had written of ToL. Thankfully most of my important stories were already on so I didn't lose them, but some of the original fiction, and all of my essays from the past 4 years, and much of my poetry, and the picture I had finally finished of Fiyero, are all gone. It took me a month to accept that I had to rewrite this chapter, which was really disappointing because I had loved the way it came out, but what are you going to do? Thisis why it's taken me two months instead of just one (it had to take a while anyway because of graduation and stuff. BTW, I'm officially a high school alumna... and legal for that matter. Yay birthday!) So, yeah. Here it is now. Mazel tov!

Din: You should really convert to Judaism.

Selphie: You know, I really should. Anyhow, read on, folks.

Darunia: Disclaimer- Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Daieno, Saeda, and Fiyero, plus most of those nice guard guys, like Pile, Dellius, and Norris. Also that Bag of Bones monster. But they won't be appearing ever again... probably. You never know with Selphie.

Selphie: ...They won't be back.

Tingle: There are also a couple of new characters in here that she owns, but we won't spoil them.

Darunia: And Patrick owns Ravick and his Shadow.

Selphie: And they also won't be back. At least not for a very, very long time.

Din: Try a couple years.

Selphie: Yeah. Anyway, go ahead and read!

* * *

Chapter 22

_In the Core Custody chamber, Mace suddenly sat bolt upright on his stone slab bed. His eyes were wide with an emotion that was not at the moment identifiable. "Curt. Dimitra! Sakon! Come quick!"_

_He was quickly met by his three comrades, and Curt, who stood in front of him, asked worriedly, "What? What is it?"_

"_I dunno… it's the strangest thing," Mace stated in amazement and disbelief._

"_What is?" Curt asked._

"_What izn't?" Dimitra rolled her eyes._

"_I… I had a… a…" Mace stammered off._

"_A what? An accident?" Sakon smirked._

"_A boner?" Curt suggested._

"_An 'eart attack?" Dimitra hoped._

"_An… idea!"_

_The other three gasped. It had taken a thousand years, but Mace had finally had another idea._

* * *

Link and Gremlin stood on the shore across from the Phantom Citadel. Daena sat on the sand, head on her knees, crying to herself and cursing her brother. Navi hovered nearby, keeping an eye on Daena while the boys pondered on how to get back to the Port of Sun. Their original plan had been to row all the way back around the island, but that plan was swiftly cut down when it began to rain halfway across the channel. The log was already saturated and had taken on water. 

"We walks back now?" Gremlin asked, eager to get away from the view of the Phantom Citadel and what they'd left inside.

"Um… yeah…" Link replied trailing off.

Gremlin looked at him. "What wrong?"

Link glanced back at Daena. "I'm trying to see if it would be feasible to walk along the coast," Link said, turning to the creature.

"Whys? We is knows way through village now. Is shorter, Gremlin think," Gremlin responded, still eager to get moving.

"Yeah, but…" Link lowered his voice and turned Gremlin away from the girls. "Given Daena's current state don't you think it'd be better to avoid her village?"

Gremlin glanced back at Daena's crying form and nodded slowly, turning back again. "Gremlin is see." Link nodded. "Is wants Gremlin go 'head, looks for path?"

"Yes, please," Link answered gratefully. Gremlin walked toward the beach and began looking for safe places to walk. Link, in the meantime, moved toward Navi.

"Still crying?" he asked.

Navi bobbed. "She's not going to want to go with us," she whispered, moving to his shoulder.

Link shook his head. "I can't imagine it, Navi. I want to relate to what she's going through, make it easier, but I can't."

"Hero syndrome." He turned his head slightly in her direction. "You can kill as many villains, save all the lives, rescue all the damsels you want, but then it's hard to accept when something's out of your hands." She stretched out and sat down on Link's shoulder.

"Go ahead and rest," he told her, scooping her into his hat. "No telling when any of us will get to sleep again." He walked over and stood behind Daena. She took no notice of him and simply continued to cry. Link was at a loss for words on how to comfort her, so he did the only other thing he could think of.

"…Listen, Daena… I know you're really upset right now, but… well, you can't sit here and cry forever," he said. She sniffed audibly but gave no other indication of having heard him. "The thing is… our friend is in a lot of trouble right now, and it has everything to do with those guys and why they kidnapped you… I don't want to… you know, push you into anything while you're still grieving, but it would mean a lot if you came with us on our quest. Plus Saeda's already on our ship, so I'm sure she's-."

"Whatever…"

"I'm sorry?" Link asked, confused at the speed of her resignation.

She raised her head and looked over at him. "I have… nowhere else to go." Her voice cracked at the end and she jumped to her feet, clenching her fists angrily. "Dammit, Daieno! Why the hell would you do that, you idiot! You asshole! You gods damned-!" She could not think of another word and out of frustration, she looked down and grabbed a rock from the beach, throwing it at the water. She grabbed rock after rock, throwing them and cursing her brother. Finally she couldn't find any more rocks and instead stomped her foot in the direction of the fortress.

"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO LEAVE ME!" she shouted. She then fell on her hands and knees at the water's edge. "You weren't supposed to leave me!" she cried, saltwater mixing with saltwater. "Daieno, come back! Come back! Daieno, come back…!" she wailed, lowering her head till her forehead rested on the sand. She cried loudly, begging him not to leave her, to return, to let her go in his place.

When she had begun to quiet Link cautiously moved toward her. "How do I keep living? He was the one thing I could count on. It doesn't make sense! What do I have to rely on now?" Link couldn't tell if she was talking to him or not, but she soon stood up, with some difficulty, and stared at the island. "I just… don't understand…" She was numb at this point.

"Is clears," Gremlin announced, returning at that moment.

Daena quietly turned. "Lead the way." Gremlin looked to Link, who nodded, and took the lead.

* * *

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Something's trying to break in again!" Senza exclaimed as the cabin door hit his head for the third time. He, Nudge, and Gonzo leapt to their feet, drawing their daggers. 

"We're ready for you monsters!" Gonzo warned. "You won't get any princesses tonight!"

"Or little pirates!" Nudge added.

At that point the door began opening slowly. On the other side stood Link, Gremlin, and a girl the pirates had never seen but assumed to be the Sheikah. "Gremlin not monster," Gremlin stated indignantly.

"Link! You're back!" Gonzo exclaimed. "Praise the gods! Maybe now we can get some sleep!" he said as he and the others ushered in those who were outside. As they filed in, Nudge confusedly counted heads over and over.

"I thought there was supposed to be one more…?" he wondered to himself.

"Link? Oh, gods! Finally!" Tetra exclaimed as he appeared in the doorway. Being a pirate captain she had a veritable sixth sense about things occurring on her ship. Thus, she was awake well before the others sleeping below deck. Saeda was the only other person who was fully awake and she watched as the group entered the room.

"Daena!" she cried out as her sister descended the ladder. At the bottom, Saeda rushed to meet her sister, but Daena didn't look at her and simply walked away.

"Are they back…?" Medli was rubbing sleep out of her eyes as she lifted her head from Komali's shoulder, who had previously shaken her awake upon hearing the commotion. Mako, Zuko, and Niko were all nearby, also rousing from their sleep.

"Oy! Link!" Niko exclaimed, seeing him and Gremlin meet Daena at the bottom of the ladder. Link turned to Daena and told her she could lie down and sleep if she wanted but that they would probably be awake for a little while talking. She shrugged and merely sat on a futon against the wall, somewhat apart from the others. Saeda followed, but Daena still wouldn't look at her.

It was then that it dawned on them, and Fiyero was the first to voice it. "Um… where's Daieno?" Link glanced at him and tiredly realized something.

"Hey, Daena. I forgot to introduce you to everyone," he said, turning to her. He then went through everyone and gave her their names. Daena merely shrugged and avoided attention.

"…Link," Tetra prodded, walking toward him.

Link took a deep breath, glancing at Daena. "As a result of events beyond our control… our party is now down by one member," Link said, evading the word that best described the situation.

"Excuse me?" Tetra asked as the others looked on in shock. Link shook his head.

"I can't really explain it… there was this hole and a fan…" he trailed off, turning his gaze to Daena, searching her for some sign of approval. Gremlin caught this look and took over.

"Boy is dieds," he said concisely. "We is blowed overs hole. Gremlin is trieds saves boy and girl, but Gremlin not ables climb. Boy letsed go, save sister." The crew and their guests all stared between the three.

Finally Tetra groaned and lowered her head slightly. "And there's absolutely no way he's joking…" she muttered. "Link this is getting serious."

"I know," Link replied.

"No, I mean really serious," Tetra repeated. "People are dying. They attacked the pirate ship, anyone here could be next." Link squeezed his eyes shut and massaged his temple with his thumb and forefinger. "We need the last three heirs."

Link silently agreed. "We should leave as soon as possible. Can someone please look in the tome for the next person?" he asked.

Tetra nodded and looked up at Gonzo. "Gonzo, cover me." No one was taking chances anymore. Link wandered toward the table, and everyone slowly followed him. Except Daena, Saeda, and Fiyero. Fiyero turned to Saeda. "You knew, didn't you? That's what they told you," he said. Saeda nodded guiltily, looking up toward the window again. A few seconds later she turned to Daena.

"You can still count on me, sister…" she whispered. Daena turned her head slightly in Saeda's direction, but still did not look at her.

"I had one sibling. You are not Daieno." Saeda was hurt, though she only nodded, stood, and joined the others, Fiyero tailing behind her.

Link looked up at the people around him. He saw Rosari, who he had not heard speak since he'd arrived. He tried a weak smile. "How are you holding up, Rosari?" he asked.

She shrugged half-heartedly. "There are a lot of strange things going on here, but I'm pretty sure it's all for a good cause," she said. "After those monsters attacked earlier, though, I'm glad I decided to stay with ustedes instead of putting abuela and Luís in danger. And the pirate ship is a lot nicer than those caverns…" She caught sight of Gremlin. "No offense." But he was already half asleep.

Tetra and Gonzo returned a few seconds later. "Our best bet is Sigron, the Goron. They're on Extendere Febelis," Tetra reported.

"Good. Let's get going," Link yawned, starting out of his chair.

"You're not gonna allow that, are you?" Niko asked Tetra, jabbing his thumb in Link's direction.

"Huh?" Link asked groggily.

"Exactly," Tetra replied, nodding to Niko. "Sleep first, Hero."

"Tetra, there's no time to lose. Sakon could attack any minute," Link said, swaying on his feet.

"Which is why we need you in top condition," Tetra said, pushing him back into his seat.

"You can't fight with sleep sand in yer eyes, mate," Gonzo stated.

"Fine, but we can't wait too long," Link replied, standing to move toward his room.

"Well, it's almost sunrise. We'll wake you at noon to leave," Tetra said, redirecting him toward their mess of futons.

"You can't wait till noon to start sailing," Link protested.

"We're not sailing though," Tetra smirked at his inability to think straight or remember the song he had brought just for this reason.

"If you say so…" He laid down on a random futon and was gone rather quickly. Tetra looked around at all the other weary faces.

"All right, mates. Back to bed it is. We leave at noon."

* * *

While everyone else was sleeping, Niko laid awake, unable to get his mind off the dream he'd had earlier. Hours had passed and he still hadn't managed to tell anyone about it. '_It was weird… parts of it were so real, I swear I could've been in Ikana…_' he thought to himself. '_And that room with the souls. What a nightmare…_' But this thought disturbed him, because something about it simply did not feel like a nightmare. It felt like a reality. 

Unable to stand it any longer, he threw back the quilt and tiptoed over to the ladder and up to Tetra's cabin. There he sat on the floor next to Selphie's bed and leaned against the wall. '_Is that what it was like?_' he thought to her, closing his eyes. '_Ikana? Or was that mirror reflecting everyone's ridiculousness?_' He looked over at her. '_Is that really where they're keeping you?_' He searched her face for some kind of answer, but this night she was serene and undisturbed. Niko sighed, closing his eyes as he leaned into the corner between the wall and the bed.

_

* * *

He stood up slowly and deliberately. He looked around the silent and empty hall and sighed. "It begins… again…" he murmured. He spread his arms, raising his face to the ceiling. He opened his eyes to cool sea spray and the bright light of day. "To Solati Isle." He started on his way. _

* * *

The bridges of Extendere Febelis swayed roughly as the winds of an arriving cyclone blew through the tiny group of islands. The Gorons that lived there were not alarmed: their bridges had been fortified long ago to withstand this regular occurrence. Everyone simply stepped inside their home or the nearest shop and waited for it to pass. 

Those who watched from their windows or doors, however, saw something very peculiar about this particular cyclone. Up high, in the center of its swirling winds, was a large object that was unidentifiable from beneath. When the winds began to die, the object dropped fairly quickly, but the wave it created merely surged around the islands' bases, briefly flooding a couple of the lower bridges, and dissipated quickly.

As the Gorons began re-emerging from their nooks, a pirate ship rowed in and docked at one of Extendere Febelis' larger piers. On deck stood an odd assortment of travelers: a dark skinned woman, a small blonde child, two Rito, two fairies, several pirates, and a boy wearing a green tunic.

Link and his traveling companions took in the sight of Extendere Febelis. Its sheer contrast against Gigas Island's size was one of the first things a person noticed. The group of islands took up no more than a mile or so of area on the ocean. The islands were variously dispersed and came in different sizes and heights.

That was the second unique characteristic they noticed. The islands were not the conventional spits of land that they usually visited. A more accurate word would be spire, as each was like a stone tower reaching up from the sea. All of them were filled with caves, in which the Gorons made their dwellings and businesses. They were all joined together by suspension bridges made of iron and steel and also, in some places, banners and clotheslines. Each was wrapped around by paths of various widths that allowed anyone to ascend or descend to different levels. At the base of each was a dock and at least one or two small boats for use if a bridge ever broke. Some towers sat as low as two stories and some reached as high as four.

In particular, one that was semi-close to the center of the group was wider and reached four stories, surpassing all in size except for the huge rock formation at the opposite side of the village from the pirate ship. It looked like the top of a mountain that just barely reached the surface after the Great Rain.

As the Gorons exited their homes, etc., the group of adventurers finally had a chance to get a good look at them. They looked like they were made from rocks and were, in some ways, built like boulders. In general they had fairly solid torsos and prominently round stomachs. In addition, their skin was a light brown. Their backs were rougher, with a darker brown spackled with yellow spots. Their heads sat right on their shoulders with little to no neck to be seen. Each had a wide set of lips, flat nostrils instead of a nose, and two round blue eyes. Atop their heads were varying tufts of white-blonde hair. Most had long lanky arms that hung down toward their semi-short, skinny legs. On the top part of each arm was a black symbol in the shape of a sort of paw print. Link couldn't tell if it was a kind of birthmark or if every Goron had had it placed there. They had differences, of course, some were not as large or had different hair, but this was the general appearance.

The pirate ship was docked next to a slightly taller tower. From a level or two up, one Goron called down, "Have you reached your destination, friend?"

"We think so. Is this the Goron village?" Tetra inquired.

"Indeed it is," the Goron answered.

"Then yeah," Tetra replied.

"In that case," the Goron spread his arms, and his fellows joined him in a chorus of, "Welcome to Extendere Febelis!"

"Wow, friendly," Komali commented, as he, Link, Tetra, and Medli crossed the bridge to the pier. Rosari, Saeda, and Daena stayed on board for safety, and also because Daena was still sleeping. Gremlin, as well, was sleeping, his internal clock still not quite adjusted to normal night and day. Fiyero stayed by Saeda's side, especially now, when he knew she was hurting over the loss of her brother. The pirates joined them in order to protect the ship and the heirs (and also because Extendere Febelis lacked the grandeur of the Port of Sun). Navi remained resting, exhausted from the adventures of the last few days.

The Gorons mostly went back to their business. One Goron remained sitting on the dock, busily reeling in his fishing line. As the four wanderers reached him, the Goron turned his head and greeted them.

"First time here, huh?" he asked, standing and turning to face them. He was thinner than most Gorons with quite lanky extremities. He wore a long khaki vest that was fringed at the end and wet in various places, probably from the fist he likely reeled in. Atop his head, protecting neck-length white-blonde hair, was perched a dark blue bucket hat, which hung partly into his face, that was decorated with a variety of fishing lures. His mouth seemed to be perpetually upturned in a kindly smile.

"Yeah, it is," Komali replied, as the group stopped.

"Well, let me be the first to introduce myself. Name's Lobster," he said, offering a hand to Link.

"I'm Link, and this is Komali, Medli, and Tetra- uwaah!" Link cried out as Lobster pulled him into a big Goron hug.

"It is good to meet you," Lobster declared, releasing Link and moving on to his friends.

"Pleasure's all mine," Medli replied, rather disoriented.

Lobster laughed at this and apologized, "I'm sorry. This is how we Gorons greet each other."

"I see," Link said, massaging his arms where they'd been squeezed.

Lobster smiled as they pulled their selves together and finally asked, "So, what brings you to Extendere Febelis?"

"Well, we're actually here to see your leader-," Tetra started to explain.

"Oh, you must mean Big Brother!" Lobster cut in.

"Sure, I guess. Well, we really need to talk to him," Tetra said. "It's very important. Will he see us?"

"Oh, of course. Let me show you where he lives," Lobster offered.

"Wow, really?" Medli asked.

"Certainly. It would be an honor," Lobster said, lifting a basked full of fish and resting it against his side. "Shall we?" The others nodded and followed as he started in the direction of the nearest tower.

"This is very nice of you, Lobster," Medli commented.

"Well, we don't get very many visitors here since sailors and merchants are becoming fewer and fewer," Lobster explained. "So, we like to be extra nice to anyone who does make the trip." As they passed shops and dwellings, Gorons waved greetings to Lobster and the group.

"So, you're a fisherman, Lobster?" Komali asked.

"Mm-hmm. Sixth generation," Lobster responded. "Seventh if you count my great grandpa, Levi, but he never fished. Too nervous. Leapt out of his skin if anything so much as nibbled!" He laughed out loud at the story. "It's what we're good at, and it's what I love. Keeps rocks on the table, that's for sure!"

"Yeah, I was wondering about that," Komali said. "I thought Gorons could only eat rocks. Is there really a market for fish here?"

"Well, there's two things about that," Lobster replied. "First is that there's not a whole lotta market for anything in a village this small, so we mostly make profit on being an export village."

"Primary being your famous metalwork," Tetra added as they approached a smithy.

"Indeed," Lobster declared, stopping next to a small Goron sitting next to door. He tipped his hat to him, "Afternoon, Biggoron!"

The small Goron, Biggoron nodded reservedly, "It's after noon."

"Your name's _Big_goron?" Tetra asked, arching an eyebrow at the diminutive smith.

"Family name. I'm Biggoron XLVI," he explained in a husky voice. "We built those bridges. Been workin' metal since time began, I s'pose. Gotta've been at least one that was big."

"Biggoron's the best sword smith you'll find on the planet," Lobster declared.

Biggoron shrugged, "Hmph…" He turned his attention to the travelers. "There's another smith across the village. He tries to get business saying we're distant cousins just 'cause he's got an old smithing family. Medigoron XXIX. Don't let him sucker you in. All his blades break after 100 swings."

"Edge still hanging around here, trying to learn the family business?" Lobster asked. Biggoron groaned at the thought. "He _is_ your son-in-law," Lobster said.

Biggoron shook his head. "Had to have a girl. I'm holdin' out to see if Linda has a boy this time." Lobster laughed at the smith's dilemma. In the meantime, Biggoron had caught sight of Link's broken sword hilt. "Boy, what in the name of the gods did you do to that sword?"

"Huh?" Link blurted, then looked at his sword and remembered. "Oh, yeah… It kind of broke during a fight…" Lobster had suddenly become wide-eyed when the fight was mentioned, so Link thought it best not to go into the details. He pulled it out and showed it to Biggoron, who examined it closely.

"Hmm… looks like you took good care of it up till it broke…" he said. Link shrugged modestly. It was no Master Sword, but he had liked it well enough. "What'd you break this on, boy?"

"Well, I think the other sword was made out of-."

"Diamond, by the look of the fracture," Biggoron stated. Link nodded his agreement. "You got a good healthy respect for the blade. I'll go ahead and make you a new one for free."

"Really?" Link asked. A nod was his answer. "Wow, uh… thanks," Link said, surprised by the generosity of the gruff Goron. Biggoron stood up and took the broken hilt into his shop.

"Shouldn't take too long. I'll get started on it right now," he said, stopping to turn around. "If one-a y'all stays I won't have to hunt you down when I finish."

"We'll stay," Tetra offered, indicating herself and Medli and following him into the shop.

"Hey, what's that?" Medli asked within.

"Kaiser blade. Some folks call it a sling blade…" Biggoron replied, voice fading into the next room.

Lobster laughed. "He's rough on the outside, but he's a big softy in there. Linda saw to that." He sighed and gestured to Link and Komali to follow him.

"So, what's the second thing about the fish market here?" Komali asked.

"Ah, right. The fish market," Lobster resumed. "Well, like I said, mostly we export, and most of the other fishermen do, but they catch different kinds of fish."

"Well, yeah. I didn't assume everyone caught the same thing," Komali replied.

"Heheh, I should explain better," Lobster said. "Y'see, my peers catch regular fish like halibut, tarpon, and bananafish. My family, however, cornered the market on the _petrifidae_ family of fish."

"What's that?" Komali asked.

"Rock fish. Kind of a delicacy," Lobster elaborated. "Below us is a submerged mountain range. Somehow that evolved a family of fish made of rock, so they're edible for Gorons." He indicated the contents of his basket, and the boys realized that the fish were, indeed, made of rock.

"Cool!" both boys admitted.

"People pay big money if I can pull in a rocktopus, but mostly I catch rockfish. Although I've been known to pull in some impressive rock lobsters," Lobster admitted. "Coincidence, since that's my full name."

"You're name's Rock Lobster?" Link asked.

"Family tradition," Lobster nodded. "Dad came up with it when a visiting merchant lost an earlobe on his fishing line. Turns out the little buggers love them."

"Hey, other question," Komali interjected. "You don't survive on rock fish alone. Where have you been getting the rocks to feed an entire village for hundreds of years?"

"Oh, it's not too hard," Lobster told him. "One island on the northwest edge of the village leads down to a quarry. And a couple of the villagers have boats with dredging capabilities. They can pull up rocks from the bottom of the ocean." Link nodded. Suddenly Link and Komali realized that they were standing in front of a large doorway on the big island they'd noticed before. "Well, this is your stop. You'll find in here either Big Brother or someone who can tell you where he is."

"Thanks for the tour, Lobster," Link said, extending his hand. This time Lobster took and shook it.

"No thanks are necessary. You make good company," Lobster replied, shaking Komali's hand as well then pulling both into a gentler Goron hug. "Were you planning on spending the night on that ship of yours?"

"Probably," Komali answered. "There's a lot more than just us four."

"Well, if you decide you need a change of venue, I live right underneath the inn, which is right next door to your ship," Lobster informed them. "Come looking for me and I'll hook you up with a room."

"We'll keep that in mind," Komali said.

Lobster smiled broadly at them. "Well, I will see you, friends." He tipped his hat and turned around, heading back in the direction they'd come.

"Later, Lobster!" the boys waved. A few seconds later they turned back and entered the cave. The interior was rather spacious. They were inside a large antechamber with three doors on the other side of the room and a set of stairs to their right. The center door had a rug in front of it and a torch on either side, and the door on the left had one torch next to it.

"Yo, Link, before we start getting into this," Komali said suddenly.

"What's up?" Link asked warily.

"Are you doing okay?" Komali inquired.

"…What do you mean?" Link returned, although he was pretty sure he knew what Komali meant.

"It's just, you've been kinda quiet all day," Komali observed. "Usually when you come to a new place you like to take it all in, but you seem more like you just want to get it over with." Link took this in for a moment.

"Don't worry about it," Link told him. "I'm just a little tired after all this activity since this all started." Komali stared him down.

"Y'know, just because we're guys-."

"Seriously, Komali. Don't sweat it," Link forced a laugh. "Let's just go in here and meet Sigron." Komali shrugged as they made their way into the room.

"I'm going to guess Big Brother is in the middle room," Link said as they approached.

"And you are probably correct!" Both boys turned, surprised to find Navi floating between them, and she sounded like she was speaking through gritted teeth.

"Navi, what are you-?"

"Don't ask! Let's just meet the leader!" she snapped, and Link thought it best just to open the door.

* * *

Selphie: Uh-oh. Navi's pissed. I wonder why? Well, I don't, but you do. At least you will until next chapter. Anyhow... so yeah, I actually started working on this chapter back in May while working at the spring carnival at my school. Oh, well...

Tingle: BTW, she owns Lobster and thisversion of Biggoron.

Selphie: I loved that little thing in the CCC. Are you going to find out what his plan was? Not until after the fact. Dimitra's wishful thinking entertains me though.

So, no one that was in that fortress is taking Daieno's death too well. Don't know if it came across, but Gremlin's feeling really guilty. Thinks he should've been stronger. Poor thing. And Link's wishing he'd been there to help, and Daena, oh God, Daena... I think we all know whatshe's going through. I've spent enough time trying to get that across. I almost cried while writing that scene on the beach. I feel bad for Saeda too though, getting pushed away by her sister. Things'll look up for them soon though, I promise.

I put that Niko thing in there to reach word count. I do that to him a lot, don't I? Cute though.

Oh, my goodness, what is with that random italicized paragraph in the middle of the chapter? Who is it? What is he doing? What the hell is Solati Isle! Well, I'm gonna guess most of you will guess who he is (don't give it away though).

So, Extendere Febelis. What do you think? I love it, personally. I wish I could go there. Their greeting part seemed very Jamaican-esque for some reason. Don't know where that came from. Might be because I always end up with deep black-men voices in my head when I read Goron text. Darunia, for reasons unbeknownst, always sounded like a cross between Mr. T and M.C. Hammer.

Darunia: I do? Bree-bree-bree, Bray-bray-bray, Brah-brah-br- By Din! I do!

Selphie: So many random cultural references in there too though. Oh, my god. Couldn't resist though. Extendere Febelis itself was kind of inspired by Guldove in Chrono Cross. Then there's Lobster's grandpa Levi, which is short for Leviatan (since they're all named for fist or whatever). I just beat Final Fantasy IV the other day (one of the hardest RPGs every made- seriously), and those familiar with the game will know that Leviatan is a summon whose attack is a giant tidal wave that kicks ass. Biggoron refers back to the swordsmith back in Ocarina of Time. His manner of speaking and attitude, well... fans of Billy Bob Thornton might get it, especially if they catch the direct quote from Slingblade. Medigoron also refers back to OoT, so technically he and Biggoron are related... distantly. Edge, Biggoron's son-in-law, is named for my favorite ninja (again from FFIV). Linda, his wife, is the name of the mother in Slingblade. Lobster then mentions a bananafish, which is from Catcher in the Rye author, J.D. Salinger.

Now, Lobster was the one who put me on the obscure cultural reference kick in the first place. When I first concocted him he simply screamed to be called Lobster. I didn't know why, and I didn't complain. Lobster was a pretty ironic name. Then I found my dad's B-52's CD, which had been missing for several months. After listening to it and becoming hyper from the following idea, I decided Lobster was short for Rock Lobster and that Lobster would be a fisherman. Hell. Yes. Then I decided to mention the earlobe getting lost at the beginning of the song, so that's how we explained his father coming up with the name. So much fun.

Yeah, if you go back through, Link really didn't talk quite as much as he usually does. Oh, well. Time (among other things) will heal. Then enter the crazy pissed off fairy! Woo!

Well, that's about all. I was going to have a picture of Fiyero for you guys over at deviantArt, but the laptop took him with it, so I guess not now. By the way, since I last posted anything I went on a Girl Scout Encampment, worked at a carnival for about 25 hours, bought a yearbook, had a sucky senior picnic, got 10 inches of hair cut off, graduated,went to the Girl Scout Camporeeat Hershey Park,shared a graduation party with my cousin, went to the International Thespian Festival,went to my mom's boyfriend's trailer on the water, spent a week doing nothing, and wrote all this. Feh. Anyhow, that's all for now. Happy 4th of July, Americans, and everyone else, well... have a nice day. KIT&KIR! Hasta!

All: Mazel tov!


	25. Chapter 24

Selphie: Let's play a game! It's called "what sucks and what doesn't suck."

Din: What sucks is writer's block. I mean, come on! All it does is prevent the story from updating, and what else was she gonna do?

Nayru: What doesn't suck is getting every ending to Chrono Trigger and seeing Frog as a sexy human. Swoon!

Farore: What sucks being trapped in a bedroom for five days straight trying to clean up ten years' worth of mess and pack one's life into a tupperware crate.

Darunia: What doesn't suck is college! Freedom! New friends! New challenges! A place other than Maryland! Woohoo!

Tingle: What sucks is not being allowed to bring any video games outside of the Gameboy realm.

Selphie: What is not sucking is the game called Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga and the most best villain ever who is named Fawful!

Darunia: What sucks is Selphie has infatuation... (is dejected)

Tingle: What doesn't suck is Final Fantasy Advent Children.

Goddesses: What sucks is... Tingle.

Tingle: Hey!

Navi: (slap) That's my line! (leaves)

Darunia: What doesn't suck is-

All: A new laptop! Hoozah!

Selphie: In other news, here's the chapter! Time for a disclaimer!

Darunia: Disclaimer- Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Daieno, Saeda, Fiyero, Lobster, and Biggoron, as well as most of those other cool Goron peeps.

Darunia: There's another new character in this chapter, but apparently i doesn't belong to Selphie either.

Selphie: Read on!

* * *

Chapter 23

Prior to Navi's bursting in on Link and Komali, she had remained on the pirate ship. "So… now we're in broad daylight, surrounded by people, y'think it's okay for me to head back up to the nest?" Zuko asked Gonzo once the others were out of sight.

"Eh? Oh, yeah, I s'pose it's alright," Gonzo answered dismissively. Zuko immediately whooped and scrabbled up the ladder.

Senza stared up after him. "…Did he just say, 'Did my baby miss her daddy?'" he asked.

"Who cares? Ship's in top shape, cap'n's in town, and the aces are wild," Nudge said, holding up a pack of cards.

"Excellent! What's today?" Senza asked, as the three sat in a ring on the bridge deck, Senza and Gonzo pulling out their purses.

Nudge held up his hand, however, leering. "Desert rat screw." The other two gasped. "Are your fingers healed from… last time?"

Gonzo and Senza glanced between each other. "Maybe," Gonzo replied in an unreadable voice. "But why would we give you the advantage of knowin'?"

"Aye," Nudge nodded, dealing them in. When all the cards were dealt, Nudge looked to his left, where Senza sat. Senza turned over his top card, and play began. A six, a nine, a seven, a jack. All eyes went to Gonzo. "One shot, mate-."

"I know the rules!" Gonzo outburst. Trying to maintain the game's fast pace, he quickly overturned a card. A king. They each eyed each other. Nudge continued. A three, a nine- Nudge cringed- a nine.

"MINE!" they all shouted, slapping down their palms on the pile. There was much grunting and struggling as they fought to see whose hand had made it.

"Yo-ho!" Gonzo laughed, finding his hand to be the winner. They continued gameplay. A queen, a two, a jack, a jack- _slap!_ A queen, a two, a six. Nudge took the pile. A queen, a king- _slap!_

"Oy! False slap! False slap!" Senza cried. The men each followed the hand up the bronze-colored arm and discovered the yet unseen fourth player.

"You guys don't know the game very well, do you?" Rosari asked. The men stared at her with wide eyes until Gonzo snapped out of it.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa, little lady! We've been playing this for a good couple years. I think we know what's slappable and what ain't," he explained.

"Pair, three of a kind, and sandwiches," Nudge and Senza recited.

Rosari laughed at this. "Dios mío, but you boys are amateurs. You mean to tell me you don't know the BLT, acey-deucey, marriage, divorce…" She listed on for about a minute and a half of different slappable combinations. At the end of her spiel the pirates were left with blank faces and hanging jaws. Rosari watched them a moment and then sighed exasperatedly. "Keep going. I'll teach you as we go." Ten minutes later she'd won the first game. "Comprenden? Do you get it now?" she asked them.

Nudge gazed at her in envy. "Will you marry me?" he asked, awestruck.

Rosari rolled her eyes sideways. "Verdad…" she muttered sarcastically. Gonzo turned and smacked Nudge in the arm, to which he grumbled an "ow." "…How about another game for practice?" Rosari offered.

"_Blegh!_" was the answer coming from somewhere behind them on the half-deck. All four turned and saw Mako heaving over the railing into the waters of Extendere Febelis.

"Oy! Y'alright there, Mako?" Gonzo called. Mako looked up weakly and held a thump up in the air before picking himself up and retreating to the cabin.

"Ugh… pirate ships were not meant to be spun around inside of cyclones…" he grunted nauseously. He walked into the lower deck, and took one of the blankets in the big pile on the floor, curling up on the floor. Gremlin lay on the floor a few feet away, still asleep since their return from the Phantom Citadel. Daena sat against the wall, head nodding against her shoulder.

Niko, who had been in Tetra's room, checking that Selphie hadn't been tossed from her bed during the cyclone, came in and saw Mako curling up on the floor. "Oy, I'm making lunch. You want something, Mako?" Mako just groaned and curled up tighter. Niko shook his head and crossed the floor toward the galley.

"Let's see… what's on the menu for today…" he said to himself, scanning over their food supply, which, he realized would soon be due for restocking now that they had the extra mouths to feed. It seemed to him strange that normal things like lunch could be occurring in the midst of all they were going through. Selphie's soul was trapped in Ikana, they had adopted some strange four-armed creature, and someone had died just last night. '_Not to mention that dream…_' he thought to himself. Gods, how he wanted to talk to someone about that.

He knelt down to start the fire in the stove. "Excuse me. May I have some lunch too?" Niko was surprised by the voice and turned to see Saeda standing next to him. Fiyero was floating near her shoulder. "I'd make it myself, but I'm not allowed to use the stove by myself."

"Uh, yeah. I've got you covered," Niko nodded, standing and looking down at her.

"Thanks a lot!" Saeda smiled and then giggled as her stomach rumbled quite audibly. Niko went to the water barrel and dunked a pan inside, filling it. When he returned to put the pan on the burner her realized Saeda was still standing right next to it.

"Uh, you might wanna stand back. It gets really hot," he cautioned.

"Okay," she shrugged and hopped back a few steps. Niko stood at the stove for about half a minute and realized she wasn't leaving. So he turned to look at her. "There's nothing to do, so I was just gonna watch you, if that's okay."

"Show us how to cook!" Fiyero jumped on Saeda's shoulder.

"Uh, you're both a little small to be learning how to cook," Niko replied uneasily.

"Well, can we watch anyway?" Saeda asked.

"Erm… just make sure to stay back, okay? Don't want you to get hurt or something…"

"Yeah!" Fiyero exclaimed and flew up high so that he could see into the pot without getting in the way. Niko wasn't sure what was so exciting about water boiling, but he figured he'd let him have his fun. He was aware it would take some time, but he was used to cooking alone.

"You're friends with Selphie, right?" Saeda asked after about a minute of silence. Niko glanced back at her.

"Yeah… she's everyone's friend pretty much," he replied hesitantly.

"But you guys were especially good friends, right?"

Niko managed not to blush. '_Wow, awkward…_' "We were kinda tight…"

"Can you tell me about her?" Saeda requested curiously.

"Well… haven't you already heard the story?" Niko said, not liking to relive the experience.

"No, I mean before that!" Saeda corrected.

"Yeah!" Fiyero jumped in excitedly. "What was she like? Tell us!"

"Uh…" Niko scratched the back of his neck searchingly. He wasn't used to talking to kids, and Fiyero was a lot different from Navi.

"Please!" they both pleaded.

Niko's stomach twisted in debate. "I wouldn't know where to begin."

"Tell us why she doesn't look like a pirate," Saeda suggested.

"Yeah, why's she on a pirate ship if she's not a pirate?" Fiyero challenged.

"You're not pirates, are you?" Niko answered.

"Hmm, that's a good point," Fiyero said to Saeda. "You make a good point," he said to Niko.

"But why is Selphie here?" Saeda asked, full of inquisitiveness.

"I guess…" Niko thought about it. "I guess because she didn't have anywhere else to go. She's not from here."

"We're not from here either," Saeda said.

"Yeah, but she's… not from _here_-here, do you know what I'm saying?" Neither the child nor fairy gave any indication that they did, in fact, know what he was saying. "Ah, heck, can't be any weirder than anything else you've gone through. Selphie traveled through time to get here." Saeda's eyes widened in wonder.

"Nuh-uh!" Fiyero cried out. "For real?"

"Yeah, she kinda fell into our laps, so I've been teaching her the ropes ever since," Niko replied.

"Is she nice? She doesn't look like a mean person," Saeda said.

"The nicest. She's the only person on this ship who didn't treat me like a swabbie." The word swabbie evoked looks of confusion from the two. "Uh, it's just a word."

"Was she funny?" Fiyero asked. The exchange continued for several minutes. "Was she" something. "She is" or "is not."

"Did everyone else hang out with her as much as you did?" Fiyero asked.

"She likes to get a little involved with everything, so she does-," Niko started.

"You're a good friend," Saeda stated suddenly.

Niko was taken aback. "Wait… what?"

"You keep saying she is nice and stuff, but everyone else says she _was_ something. You have more hope," Saeda observed.

Niko stood a moment, trying very hard not to stare at the child. Being psycho-analyzed by a ten-year-old was _extremely_ unnerving. "Well, I mean… it's not like she's dead or anything…"

"Exactly!" Saeda pointed out cheerfully. Niko nodded and exhaled awkwardly.

"So anything else you wanna know?" he asked, glancing this way and that.

Fiyero spoke up with a question he had been holding back since the beginning of the interview. "Was she your girlf-?"

"HEY! WOULDJA LOOK AT THAT! THE WATER'S BOILING!" Niko cut him off loudly. He turned away, face a deep, deep shade of scarlet, and proclaimed, "It's time to add the rice. Lemme just go on over here and get that rice, because rice is so important to the bean and rice recipe, y'know, being half of it and all!" He busied himself with "looking for" a burlap sack next to the shelf and finally unfolded the top on it. "Wah!" he yelped, nearly dropping it.

"Eep!" Navi exclaimed, rousing rather suddenly and unexpectedly from her sleep… inside said rice sack. She flitted out quickly and floated in front of him. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to fall asleep in the ship's food!" she apologized quickly.

Niko, for his part, was speechless. He'd always been made to keep the below deck area quite clean enough for living, so Navi was the first winged creature to make it into their food supply.

Saeda, for her part, was only slightly perturbed. It took much more than a fairy in a burlap sack to throw her off. She'd been through much stranger, she was sure of it, even if she wasn't positive.

Fiyero, for his part, was laughing hysterically. "You should see yourself!" he hooted loudly, folding his arms over his stomach (though neither human could see this) as Navi quickly removed several grains of rice from her person… well, fairy. What Niko and Saeda did see was the blue-white ball of light slightly redden in its glow when Fiyero declared, "I see old habits are hard to change. Did you fall asleep there, or did you wander there unconsciously?"

Navi refused to reveal that she didn't remember. "Hmph!" she exclaimed, pulling herself together. "I might have looked strange in that sack, but I'd rather look ridiculous than sound ridiculous. It's easy to change appearances, but words are something that can't be forgotten," she shot back.

Fiyero's thoughts didn't catch up with him for a second or two more. That was when he realized what she'd said and stopped laughing. Suddenly the girl fairy looked smug.

"Oh, yeah?" he faltered slightly. "Do you still think that, remembering some of the strange places you ended up back in the forest. Does the word somnaeroism mean anything to you?" he asked.

"Does somniloquism mean anything to you?" she replied.

They flew toward each other facing off. The humans were at a complete loss for what to do, as always. Fairies confused the hell out of them. "Tell me, Navi, how many days did it take to get all the sap out of your hair? Was it worth it to sleepfly and settle down in the Great Deku Tree's nose?"

"Hey! In my defense, I got caught in his inhale, I'm sure of it!" Fiyero laughed at this pathetic excuse. "I-!" Fiyero laughed even harder, cutting her off. "Grr…!" she growled, deciding to go there. "So, Fiyero! You're hungry, right?" Fiyero suppressed himself to snickers, sure that whatever she could say, he had already won.

"I was going to pick at Saeda's food, why?" he replied.

The blue-white ball tilted to the side saccharinely. "No reason, I was just wondering how long it's been since you had any… 'DEKUUUUUUUUU… hmmr CREAM PIIIE!'" It was a direct quote from the most embarrassing sleepshout Fiyero had ever uttered. Fiyero was aghast. He opened and closed his mouth noiselessly several time. "Oh, but I guess that's not very available anymore," Navi continued. "Well, 'at least you have cucco-.'"

"YOU PROMISED!" Fiyero shouted. "You promised when all of those Kokiri moved on you would never mention that night again!" His voice cracked and so red did he turn that his blue light became purple.

"You asked for it! It's not my fault I sleepfly, and you didn't have to make fun of me for it!" Navi retorted.

"But I never promised not to talk about that! The whole forest laughed at me! It was humiliating!" Fiyero sounded on the verge of tears, and, though she wouldn't admit it, contrition was settling in the pit of Navi's stomach. "That was the worst night of my life! Why?"

"Do you want to know something about bad nights? What do you think it was like for everyone in the forest to worry about you and Toby night after night for months until we realized you were never coming back!" Navi accused. "You broke a promise too!"

"I made a promise to Toby, too!" Fiyero returned.

"Kokiri die! Fairies don't!"

"You're just selfish!" Fiyero shouted, and Navi, who had followed Hero and god for more than 1600 years, refused to take it. Not caring where she ended up, she flew from the ship to search for Link.

* * *

The Big Brother of the Gorons' room was finely furnished. There were several brightly lit torches, an elaborately carved wooden table, a plate of delicious-looking (if you were a Goron) rocks, several very soft plush carpets, and three expertly crafted pillars at the opposite end of the room, all three of which were distinctly modeled after Gorons. 

"He's not here?" Link stated confusedly.

"Should we wait for him?" Komali asked.

"Well, it won't be a very long wait!" came a loud, booming laugh that made the boys leap into the air.

"I know that voice!" Navi was suddenly jolted from her fury. Unsure, she flew a bit closer to the middle pillar. "Is that you, Darunia?"

"Darunia?"

"That's my name: Darunia, Big Brother of the Gorons." The center "pillar" abruptly sprang to life and scooped Navi into its large rocky hand. The boys watched wide-eyed as they realized it was not, in fact, a pillar, but a Goron, the largest they had yet seen. This fact was all the more impressive because he also had the appearance of being quite old and having lost a good deal of strength over the years. His powerful arms were large, but looked like they had atrophied from an even greater size. The spiky hair, which flared out like a mane around his head, was dazzling white, and had receded so that the top of his head was bald. There were lines visible on his forehead and small crinkles at the corners of his eyes. But all this, rather than making him seem ancient, gave him an air of wisdom in addition to his obvious strength.

"Whoa…" Komali uttered.

Darunia strode across the room and stood in front of them. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but we have not had the pleasure of meeting before," he said. He eyeballed Link momentarily. "But just for the fun of guessing, I'm going to wager you're a Hero." Link was amazed at the correct guess. "Am I right?"

"Um, yeah, my name's Link," Link replied, his voice belying his surprise. Darunia seemed to think his name was funny. "But how did you…?"

Darunia laughed heartily. "I've been around for a while, as you've probably guessed. I've seen a Hero or two," he explained. "I'll give you a hint, the green tunic is a good tip-off to anyone who's met the last two."

"So… wait, you're that old?" Komali asked.

"I've lived that long, yes, but I wouldn't describe myself as '_old_,'" Darunia replied, turning to him. "And who might you be? You look a little young to be a mail carrier."

"I'm Komali. The Rito chieftain is my dad," he replied.

"Really? So you're the Rito

prince?" Darunia said. "It's great to meet you. It's been a long time since I talked to your father. How's he doing these days? Good?"

Komali thought to the last time he saw his father. "Fine, I guess."

"Good to hear it, good to hear it," Darunia said.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Navi said, flying between the two boys. "But are you descended from Darunia, the Great Sage of Fire?" she asked tentatively, not wanting to freak him out.

"…We share a common bloodline," Darunia replied. Navi stared at him appraisingly.

"I actually knew Darunia the sage," Navi said, probingly. "You remind me a lot of him."

The Goron with many years under his belt rubbed his beard thoughtfully, leaning in toward Navi. "You look familiar too. I wonder…" Navi hovered curiously. Suddenly, his hand appeared next to her and he flicked his forefinger at her, launching her across the room.

"HEY!"

"Navi, the fairy! Is that you?" Darunia exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air with amusement. "Good gods, I thought you were some crazy fairy or something!" Link and Komali silently prayed that they would never have to resort to recognizing Navi's "hey" to recognize her.

"Was that necessary?" Navi asked, returning to them, flying somewhat awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, but I don't like to let on who I am to outsiders. Had to make sure you already knew," Darunia replied.

"So, wait. You really are the sage who helped the Hero of Time?" Komali asked.

"Yes, I am. Although he helped me more than I ever helped him. Our patron deity, Volvagia, would've been cursed to this day if Link hadn't defeated him," Darunia told him, laughing as he led them across the room to sit on the soft rugs.

"Wait, _that_ was your god, Volvagia?" Navi asked. "That subterranean dragon that tried to eat your people? The Great Deku Tree never described him as a psychopath!"

"Well, that's because he wasn't. Ganondorf had cursed him, so he wasn't in his right mind," Darunia explained. Navi stared for a moment. "See, this is what happens when you fly off without a trace at the end of an adventure, Navi."

"What now?" Link blurted suddenly.

"Darunia, not that I'm disappointed to see you alive, but why _are_ you still alive?" Navi asked.

"Mmm… couple different things, actually," Darunia replied. "We Gorons tend to lead naturally long lives, and my bloodline, the Big Brother ancestry, lives even longer. My sage powers also give me even more longevity."

"Wow, lucky," Komali said. "I wonder if I get to live longer too."

"'Course your father would still be around," Link smirked, despite himself.

Komali leered at him but smirked too. "That's the first joke I've heard you crack all day," he commented. Link shrugged.

"Another reason I've stayed alive so long," Darunia continued, "Is that none of my descendants have showed the right qualities to take over my position."

"You mean there have been no good leaders in five hundred years?" Navi asked.

"Well, not since I realized I needed someone to take over for me, two hundred years ago. Pretty short-sighted, really," he mused. "Well… that's not entirely true. Bear came pretty close."

"Bear?" Navi asked.

"One hundred and fifty years ago everyone was cheering for the great Barret to be our new leader," Darunia elucidated. "Barret, or Bear for short, was just about everything a Big Brother needed to be. He helped his brothers indiscriminately, knew exactly what to say and when to say it, was an excellent warrior, and-," Darunia grinned amusedly, "He was one heck of a dancer." Navi bobbed knowingly, but Link and Komali glanced at each other confusedly. "So here was Bear, a great brother who simultaneously rolled faster than anyone on Extendere Febelis and held the record for most rocks eaten in under five minutes. Everyone loved him, and I thought for sure I'd be able to retire and leave the Goron race in good hands."

"So, what happened?" Komali inquired.

Darunia sighed. "Bear was a great leader, to be sure. And I would have left the people to him if that was the only job he needed to fill." They looked at him questioningly. "Bear was an ocean Goron, like most everyone here. He had no ties to his mountain heritage beyond being the fastest rock eater. This made him ill-suited to being a sage, but I did not know that at the time.

"So, the day came when I decided 'Enough leadership training! It's time to turn you into a sage!' In order to do this, Bear had to enter the Fire Temple and present himself to Volvagia. Little different from the way I was awakened, but we were in peace times." He groaned, "Bear went into Passing Peak and never returned. Volvagia told me later that he'd completely failed his test."

"How did he do that?" Navi asked.

Darunia paused a moment. "I've never told this to my people because I worry they would lose respect for Bear as a Goron. He was an excellent Goron, but he was a very poor sage. When he entered the inner chamber of the Fire Temple- Navi, you know the one- Volvagia appeared to him in all his fiery glory and flew toward him. Misunderstanding the action, Bear attacked, thinking the test was to defeat the dragon. He refused to cease his attack until our deity reverted to his human form- a sight that no other mortal has seen, not even me.

"I couldn't say precisely what response would have been the correct one, but I imagine it would have something to do with embrace his spirit. Instead of making him return in disgrace, Volvagia escorted his soul to the next realm." The other three sat in silence for a few moments. "Don't you worry about it though!" Darunia assured them. "I won't be dying any time soon and, well…" There was a small twinkle in his eye. "We'll say I've got a good feeling."

"When have you ever not had a good feeling, Darunia?" Navi asked.

Darunia laughed, "This is a good point. But I'm sure I've bored you guys long enough with stories about Gorons passed. I've got to assume there's a reason you guys came for a visit. Right, Link?" he turned to the boy in green.

"Oh… yeah. Right."

"Are all Links quiet, or is there something about me that makes them clam up?" Darunia asked Navi, recalling the time he first met the Hero of Time.

"He's just a little spaced out today," Komali smirked, knocking on his head.

"Ha ha," Link rolled his eyes and punched Komali in the arm.

"Link's had a rough couple of days," Navi defended for him.

"Rough? What's that mean?" Darunia asked suspiciously.

"Rough. Y'know, not smooth. You eat rocks, you should know all about it," Komali said. Darunia laughed and slapped Komali on the back, nearly knocking the boy over. "Remind me not to tell him any more jokes," he said to Link.

"Actually, Darunia, we're on a quest," Navi said.

"A quest? Aw, hell. Ganondorf's not back, is he? Do I need to pray for the sword? Revive the seal? Kick his a-?" Darunia said.

"No! No, Ganondorf is not a threat," Navi cut in.

"Yeah, you missed that quest. That was a couple months ago. Link and Tetra took care of him good," Komali said.

"Excuse me. Tetra?" Darunia asked, confused.

"Princess Zelda," Link told him.

"Oh, is she here too?" Darunia asked. "I should meet her. Anyone else?"

"My girlfriend's the Earth Sage," Komali offered.

"No lie? I'll need to meet them later, but first tell me about this quest of yours," Darunia said.

"Well, basically we're gathering the descendants to the royal bloodlines of each tribe of Hyrule," Link said.

"And Ikana," Navi added.

"Right. We need them to get to the kingdom of Ikana, actually," Link explained.

"…A sealed kingdom?" Darunia asked. "What in Farore's name do you want to go there for?"

"To save our friend," Link answered. "Her soul was stolen away, and it's trapped in Ikana with four evil souls who also want all of these heirs so they can escape. They're doing terrible things. Lord Jabun swallowed Komali whole, a community of creatures have been left leaderless, a whole village and all of its inhabitants were destroyed, and one of the Sheikan heirs-…" The three in the room stared at him. "I guess it's not all about saving Selphie anymore, but we need to put an end to this anyway."

Darunia cocked his head to the side. "Did you say 'Selphie?'" Darunia stated. They nodded, and he smiled wryly, sighing to himself, shaking his head. "Ironically, Selphie is one of my favorite names. My great great-something granddaughter was named Selphie. She was a sweetheart."

"Ironic…" Navi commented.

Darunia suddenly showed great enthusiasm for this mission. "It occurs to me that 'descendant' would mean you want my great great great… something grandson, Sig," he said.

"The Tome of Lineage mentioned someone named Sigron," Navi bobbed.

"Yup, that's Sig. I can't speak for him, but I don't have any problem with you taking him on an adventure," Darunia responded. He thought for a moment. "In fact, it'll probably do him a world of good."

"How's that?" Navi asked.

"Well, I don't want to do all his talking for him. Why don't you go meet him. He should be on the roof. Look hard if you don't see him at first," Darunia answered.

"Let's head on up then," Komali declared. "The sooner he comes on along with us, the sooner we can save Selphie."

"And the sooner you can go home and be grounded," Navi reminded him. Komali frowned at her.

"It was nice meeting you," Link said, as he and Komali stood up.

"Reminds me of the good old days, you and Navi here, off on another quest," Darunia replied. "Now you know I'm alive, come visit sometime, Navi. We can dance! I haven't heard that song in ages!"

"Thanks for the help," Komali said, extending his hand but bracing himself for the hug he and Link were then pulled into.

"I'm a Goron. It's in my nature," Darunia smiled, releasing them toward the door. "Now go talk to Sig. Come back down afterwards if you have the time." As the trio exited the room, Darunia shook his head, grinning. "Those two are going to be my brothers soon, I think."

The stairs were right next to the front door. They ended at an open deck above the room they were just in. There was a railing around the edges and a roof supported by several columns. But there was no sign of Sig the Goron.

"Okay, Darunia said to look hard, but where is there to look? It's a closed terrace," Komali said.

Link looked around and thought for a moment. Then he remembered the word roof and looked up. Sure enough, there looked to be a door in the ceiling. "Up there," he pointed. "But there's no handle or anything."

"Look!" Navi drew their attention to one of the supports for the roof. There was a circular protrusion that looked like it had been punched several times. "I think this might be a switch." Komali tried pushing it, but it wouldn't move. "I think you have to hit it really hard."

The boys glanced at each other. Komali stepped back. "Go ahead, Link. Hit it," he said.

"Wimp…" Link muttered, but when he curled his fist he couldn't bring himself to hit it.

"Wimp," Komali returned. Groaning at himself, Link tried to think of something else. Then he thought of his equipment, and the skull hammer came to mind.

He pulled it out and advised Komali and Navi to back away. "Cross your fingers." He swung, and, upon impact, the switch retreated and the door opened, dropping a ladder for them to climb.

"Time to make a new friend," Komali declared as they moved toward the roof.

* * *

Selphie: Dude! It's frickin' Darunia!

Darunia: Holy shit! _I'm _in this story?

Tingle: Yeah, and you belong to Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto too /disclaimer.

Selphie: Okay, story of why Darunia is in here. It occurred to me that only two descendants knew anything about her people's past, and they were Rosari and Sra. Elena. Komali knew about Rito stuff but not Zora. Daena and Daieno had never even heard of Sheikah. Tetra (and, yes, I know this didn't happen in the story, but it's still significant) learned about Hyrule when she was locked in a basement. A basement, people! The only race that had done a good job handing down its knowledge was the Gerudo. Darunia fixes that. By being from the past and having told his descendants about their bloodline, that saves me from having Link and co. explain to yet another heir why the hell he's so special. Plus, you can't come up with a better leader of the Gorons than Darunia.

Darunia: It's true!

Selphie: The other reason has much less to do with tactics. I guess it was a year and a half ago (back when Kearra and I still roleplayed), the thought occurred that by the time ToL time came around, most of the characters we RP-ed with would be dead. Some of them we'd already RP-ed the deaths of, but we hadn't done Daru. So when she pointed out that he too would be missing, I thought, "Well, that's just depressing! Darunia dying? That's the most depressing thing I've heard this whole damn year!" (It was probably about mid-January when this occurred.) So I decided that Daru wasn't going to die before ToL took place, in fact, he would have a role in it. Voila! Both problems solved.

Now, you guys are probably wondering what the delay was with this chapter, considering I was on summer vacation... Three things, really. 1. I did't have a laptop, and it's literally impossible to get comfortable at the computer desk back home. No more worries about that problem, however, as I now have a new laptop and am, indeed, about six hours away from that computer. 2. The scene below deck. I wanted to kick myself five hundred times for writing Navi in all angry-like at the end of the last chapter because I had no idea what the hell made her so angry beyond the fact that it was tied to Fiyero. Yeah, that's a problem. It took me until very recently to decide that Navi fell asleep in strange places. I have no idea how it came about, but let's just be happy it did. The other problem was getting them into a situation like the one in this chapter. For reasons I can only describe as _deux ex duh_, the chapter could not begin with Fiyero finding Navi in a sack of rice. There had to be another situation. It was yesterday, when I had finished my first round of college homework (whee!) that Saeda got hungry and Fiyero took up an interest in the culinary arts. Somnaeroism is a word of my own design. Somniloquism is not. I get too attached to my characters, if the fact that my tears well up when they cry is any indication. They're all from some part of me, so I guess there's something in me that relates to what I'm putting them through... Oh, yeah, 3. I randomly stumbled upon a Fawful fanfiction and fell in love with the Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga universe for a couple weeks there...

Moving on... more homages in this chapter. I should've mentioned it last chapter, but Sig is actually a reference to Sig from the Jak and Daxter games. Because Sig rocks. This Sig's gonna be quite a bit different from him, but Sig always reminded me of a Goron, so I thought it'd be a good name for one of my characters (ironically, he had the deep black-man voice too...). And continuing on that track, the great Barret is named after Barret from Final Fantasy VII, which I've never played, but I'm familiar with the storylines, and I just saw Advent Children on YouTube.

For the other homage in this chapter, I give you the inspiration:

Leeroy: LEEROOOOOOOOOOY hmmr JEENKIIIINNSSS!

Tingle: ...He makes me feel so good about myself.

Selphie: At least he has chicken... and an answer on Jeopardy. Also, so you guys know, desert rat screw is actually a real-life game called Egyptian rat screw. It is insanely fun when you play with people who already know how. I recommend looking it up on wikipedia and trying it out. Zuko's a little weird, huh... I can't think of anything else really important now. College is teh awesome! I love it here! Everyone's so nice, and I'm still actually on top of my peers! My advisor was bragging about my summer reading paper to another professor when I went to talk to her about my schedule (I placed into Calculus, but they don't offer it until next semester. I tried one class of pre-calculus and found that it was _waaay_ too slow. I mean, we were working out of an algebra/trig book. I'm taking stats instead). Bragging! Excited like you have no idea!

Okay, I got nothing else. R&R and KIT&KIR.


	26. Chapter 25

Tingle: Personally, I say that a little under two months is pretty good, considering how much work college is.

Selphie: Oi! Who told you you could start the author's notes.

Tingle: I'm a freak. I don't need permission.

Din: Why did you ever-

Nayru: Put him in these notes-

Farore: To begin with?

Tingle: She didn't. I popped in unannounced. Then she started yelling things about me being evil.

Darunia: You're too stupid to be evil.

Selphie: Amen. Anyhow, I'll just let you folks read.

Darunia: Disclaimer- Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Daieno, Saeda, Fiyero, Sig, Lobster, and Biggoron, as well as most of those other cool Goron peeps.

Selphie: Read on, readers.

* * *

Chapter 24

It became immediately apparent why Sig the Goron would choose to spend his days on the roof of Darunia's island. Link hadn't been this high up since he'd scaled the Tower of the Gods, and the view from this height was amazing. The trio could see miles and miles of blue ocean stretched out before them and all of Extendere Febelis below them. There was a perfect breeze that Zephos himself must have created specially for them, and the sun kept it just the right warm.

"Hello?" Navi called out.

"Agh!" _skid_,_ skud_, "Oomf!" _sprawl_. Link, Komali, and Navi turned to see a Goron lying on his back on the other end of the deck. He rolled his head to the side and looked at them. "Um… hi there…" he greeted uncertainly.

"Are you Sigron?" Komali asked.

"Yeah, but I prefer Sig," he replied, standing and dusting himself off. When he stood, the group's collective thought was, '_Is he really related to Darunia?_' for he lacked the sheer size that his ancestor possessed. He was more or less averagely built for a Goron though his stomach was a bit smaller. His arms were average. His legs were average. His height was average. He did have white hair that slightly resembled Darunia's in that it stuck out so that he looked like he had a mane, except that he had no facial hair. And he also wore a kind of kilt held up by two straps that made an "X" across his chest. Other than that…

"Oh, no! My glasses!" he exclaimed, reaching to his face and finding it bare. He immediately dropped to the floor and started feeling around for them. Komali and Navi looked at each other skeptically, but then they realized Link was already on the ground with Sig.

"Here they are," Link declared, picking up the spectacles and handing them to the Goron.

"Ah, thanks!" Sig took them carefully and, standing once more, returned them to his face. "Thanks, I can't see much of anything without my glasses. It's a real nuisance."

"No problem," Link shrugged it off as his friends joined him.

Sig took a good look at them. "By the way, who are you and how did you figure out how to get up here? This is my special place," he asked Link.

"Oh, actually your great… something grandfather tipped us off," Link responded.

"Oh, you mean GrandDaru," Sig replied.

"GrandDaru?" Komali repeated.

"Yeah, we're not sure how many greats he is, so I've always just called him GrandDaru," Sig shrugged. Then he started slightly, "I'm sorry, I don't even know your names yet. I probably sound really weird just telling you this random stuff when we haven't even been introduced. You don't do that in other places, do you?"

"No worries, it's probably just your Goron nature," Komali waved his hand dismissively.

"I guess that makes all of us weird then," Sig agreed, laughing it off.

"Don't worry, we'll just introduce our selves now and call it even," Komali said. "My name's Komali."

"I'm Navi," Navi bobbed.

"-Link," Link almost missed his cue.

"It's nice to meet all of you. I'm sure I'm not the first to say welcome, but I probably won't be the last either," Sig said.

"No worries," Komali said, extending his hand. Sig took it and pulled him into a hug, but one that didn't leave him in pain upon release. "So what were you doing up here, anyway?"

"Oh, well, it's kind of a secret," he smiled to himself. "Kind of a surprise for the rest of the village."

"Ooh, what is it? We can keep a secret," Komali told him. Navi tilted to one side in thought- thoughts still pertaining to Sig's ancestry and his not so subtle differences from his ancestor.

"Mmm… Maybe later," Sig answered. "I really don't wanna talk about it until I'm- _it's_ ready. Instead, why don't you tell me what brings _you_ up here?" he asked.

"Actually, we were looking for you," Navi spoke up. "We need your help."

"Really? You need _my_ help?" Sig seemed genuinely surprised.

"Yes, you're next in the Big Brother line, correct?" Navi replied.

"Yup, I descend right from GrandDaru," Sig answered proudly. "I mean, unless everyone's been lying to me all my life."

"Why would you think something like that?" Komali asked suddenly.

Sig shrugged, but Navi cut in, "I don't think he was being serious, Komali. It was Komali's turn to shrug. "Well, we need you to help us enter a sealed kingdom under the ocean."

"You mean Hyrule?" Sig asked excitedly.

"You know about Hyrule?" Navi asked.

"Yeah, GrandDaru told me about it years ago," Sig replied. "Is that where you're trying to go?"

"No, we want to go into a neighboring kingdom called Ikana," Navi answered.

"Oh… well, why do you need to go down there?" Sig asked, sounding disappointed.

"There's a man named Sakon down there- well, technically it's his soul, but he's down there and he's starting to do evil things up here," Navi explained.

"But why do you need me?" Sig queried.

"The only way to get to Ikana is for the leader of the Hylians, Ikanans, Kokiri, Gorons, Zoras, Sheikah, and Gerudo to play a song called the Bond of Brotherhood," Navi told him.

"A song? Not some cool council or something like that?" Sig asked.

"Yes, it's a song, but all of these other leaders will be there playing too. Everyone will be gathered for the first time in several hundred years," Navi replied.

"Really?" Sig sounded genuinely interested this time. "…Well, wait, if you need the leaders then shouldn't you use GrandDaru?" Sig inquired.

"Well, the song calls for the last descendant of each royal family," Navi answered.

"I guess that does mean me then," Sig replied, eyes lighting up. "How long would I be away? I can't spend too much time away from that surprise."

"Uh… I guess about a week, if that," Navi estimated.

"Yeah! I'll do it!" Sig exclaimed.

"Really?" Komali asked.

"Yeah! This'll be great!" Sig declared.

"Wow, you're a lot more excited about this than Rosari or Daena," Komali said.

"I don't know who they are, but they'd have to be crazy to not wanna go on an adventure like this. I've waited my whole life for a grand journey, a chance to-." He cut off. "…Well, a chance to explore the rest of the world. When do we leave?"

The trio glanced amongst their selves. "I think we've earned a rest, don't you?" Navi asked.

"Tomorrow then?" Komali said. Navi bobbed and Link shrugged.

"Perhaps you should spend time with Darunia before we leave," Navi suggested.

"Yeah, I guess I should pack a few things, too," Sig said. "Well, I'll go do that now."

"Okay, well, you know where to find us, so come on over to the ship if you need to talk to us," Komali told him as they all made their way to the ladder.

"Sure, I'll remember that. I can't wait to get going!" Sig said, descending. "See you guys later then!"

By the time they had reached the bottom of the ladder, Sig was gone, eager to begin his grand adventure.

"Well, at least we didn't have to save him from Sakon," Komali said, as they started back to the ship.

"Thankfully, but I certainly hope that nothing happens between now and tomorrow morning," Navi said.

"Hey, since we do have until tomorrow, what should we do until then?" Komali asked.

"I'm gonna go back to the ship," Link said.

"Link, are you still hung up on-?" Komali started.

"No, I'm still tired, is all," Link answered.

"I think I'm going to stay around here, try to catch up with Darunia," Navi said.

"Bah! I won't know what you guys are talking about or else I'd come. Maybe Medli's done at Biggoron's," Komali said. "Hmm…" he started thinking. "Can you make it back to the ship without me?" Komali teased Link.

"Yeah, yeah," Link waved his hand.

"Alright, then. I'll see you later," Komali said and started off in the direction of Biggoron's shop. Link waved to Navi and went in the direction of the ship while she doubled back to visit Darunia.

When Link reached the ship, Rosari was schooling the pirates at desert rat screw, and Mako, Daena, and Gremlin were sleeping below deck. Niko was playing "I spy" with Saeda and Fiyero while doing dishes. When they realized he'd entered, Niko greeted, "'Hoy, mate. Did you find him?"

"Yeah," Link nodded his head. "He's coming with us. We're leaving tomorrow."

"Great, we're that much closer to bringing Selphie back," Niko sighed.

Link nodded. "I'm going to go take a nap," he said, making his way to the ladder to his room. "I'll see you guys later."

"Have a good nap," Saeda bid him as he disappeared.

Despite having slept through the whole morning, Link was overwhelmed with fatigue once he saw his bed. Without so much as taking off his shoes or belt, he collapsed there and fell quickly to sleep.

* * *

It was only about an hour or two later when Link was awoken by a sudden jolt that caused the ship to rock to the side. This threw him over the side of the bed and on to the floor. There was a pounding moving across the ship, causing it to rock one way, and then moved back again, causing the ship to rock the other way. This continued until the ship became balanced and the attacker had reached the middle of the ship. 

"What in the-?!" he heard from the lower deck.

"Someone wake Link! I think we're under attack!"

"I'm awake!" he shouted and rushed out to meet them. Tetra, Komali, Medli, Niko, Saeda, Fiyero, Daena, Gremlin, and Mako were all there, looking slightly panicked.

"Link! We're being-!" Tetra exclaimed.

"Attacked, I can tell," Link said.

The pounding became slow and deliberate overhead and was making its way towards the door. With each pound the ship rocked- clearly whatever was doing this was fairly strong or large. Above they heard the other pirates and Rosari yelling at each rock.

"I'm going up there," Link said, running toward the ladder, Navi quickly following.

"I'm coming with you," Komali declared.

"No, he's here for you, Tetra, and Daena. He might have already gotten Rosari," Link said.

"I'll come then. Those're my mates up there," and everyone was surprised to see Niko put his hand to his dagger as he joined Link at the ladder. They had scrambled up the ladder and stairs when the pounding stopped. At the top they paused, troubled about the silence. Niko glanced into Tetra's room to see whether Selphie was okay. Her body was on the floor but otherwise unharmed.

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door that startled them both. Link looked to Niko, "You open the door; I'll stand ready to attack. Back me up if need be. Navi, help me target."

"Right," Niko said, moving to the door. Link lacked a sword, so he pulled out the skull hammer for whatever large, foul beast may lay in wait on the other side. He held up three fingers, two fingers, one finger, and Niko jerked the door open.

"Yah!" Link shouted, bringing the skull hammer back.

"WHOA! Uncle! Uncle!" shouted a loud, booming voice.

They were surprised to recognize, "Darunia?"

There in the doorway stood the Big Brother of the Gorons. "I knew I'd cause a disturbance with all that rocking, but this is a little harsh, don't you think?" Link and Niko were blank. "Ha ha, you should see your faces. Priceless," Darunia laughed.

"Link! What's going on?! Are you okay?!" Tetra's voice came from below.

"It's okay! False alarm!" Link turned and called, while Niko still stared in amazement at the large Goron. Tetra, Komali, and Medli all rushed up the stairs.

"Darunia? You're the one rocking my ship?" Tetra asked.

Darunia laughed, "Sorry about that. I asked the fellows above deck if it would be okay for me to come on, but we didn't think about how my weight would affect it. I must say, though, that seeing all of you together is just like old times. Link the first always hung around with sages and princesses. A couple ninjas too, actually."

"Bah…" Tetra and Niko muttered. Above deck, Nudge, Senza, Gonzo, and Zuko all furrowed their eyebrows and scowled but did not know why.

"Darunia, what are you doing here?" Navi asked. Realization dawned on Darunia's face as he remembered his purpose.

"Oh, yes, actually we have a problem regarding Sig," he said.

"A problem? What kind of problem?" Navi asked.

"Well, to be quite honest he's changed his mind about going with you," Darunia said.

"What?!" Tetra exclaimed. Darunia nodded.

"How did that happen? He was completely psyched to come along earlier," Komali said.

"Actually, it was when he saw Tetra and Medli with Link's sword," Darunia admitted. "I think he just realized that there may be danger involved with this expedition, which, by the way, leads me to believe you didn't tell him the whole truth about Sakon," he added disapprovingly.

"It didn't come up," Navi replied.

"Well, now he's too worried to go with you," Darunia told her.

"Can't you talk to him, Darunia?" Medli asked.

"Nothing I say convinces him. He needs to hear from you that he'll be okay," Darunia said. He sighed, "I'll be straight: Sig is obviously not me."

'_Obviously,_' thought all present.

"But he is still young. He doesn't understand that he's not done maturing. He's busy trying to be something he's not. Honestly, the other Gorons love Sig. Heck, we love everyone. But they don't believe he's going to be able to take over as Big Brother. They too forget that he's not done growing, they judge him on what he is now, not what he could be.

"Sig wants to prove them wrong, and it's great that he's not giving up, but he's so hung up on their not believing in him that he's trying to be something that he's not. Sig has the potential for greatness. It doesn't come from the same stuff that I grew out of or Barret grew out of. Sig is a lot stronger than he gives himself credit for, but he's too busy trying to be his ancestors. He needs to find his own identity."

"That sounds so cheesy," Tetra was frank with him.

"It's the truth though," Komali said. "You get so hung up on what everyone before you did and how inferior you'll be compared to them. Take into account the dangers out in the world, and you have the makings of a low self-esteem… Take it from someone who's been there." Medli put one arm around him and leaned on his shoulder.

"I guess you can relate… Huh, Komali? Tetra said.

The Rito prince nodded. "I'll talk to him."

"Good man, Komali," Navi bobbed approvingly.

"Thank you so much," Darunia said. "This will do wonders for him, I know it." He led Komali off the ship. The boat shifted, and they heard a splash as Gonzo was thrown into the water.

"Okay, no more Gorons on my ship until we fix this problem," Tetra declared. Medli, Navi, Niko, and Link all nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Sig!" Komali called. He was standing on the terrace above Darunia and Sig's house. He didn't have the skull hammer, so he couldn't lower the ladder up to the roof. "Sig! You wanna let me up? It's Komali!" No answer. Komali sighed and stood on the railing. Flapping his wings, he rose up to the roof and settled down again. Sig was sitting near the edge, looking out over the ocean. Komali approached him and sat down. 

"…So, you like to come up here and think?" Komali asked.

"Pretty much. It's kind of a private spot. No one else likes coming up here, except GrandDaru sometimes. Everyone else thinks it's too high up," Sig said.

"Hmm… well, being a Rito, I'd have to call them all crazy. This is a great place to be. And you couldn't get a better view without flying," Komali answered. Sig was quiet. Komali sighed and was quiet. They were both silent for a few moments.

"I know why you came up here," Sig stated. Komali looked at him quizzically. "You want to convince me to come with you guys." Komali tilted his head thoughtfully. "I want to help. I really do, but if Link needs a sword, then how safe can it be?"

"That's a good point," Komali said.

"And besides that, what help would I be anyways? As far as I can tell, you guys can take care of your selves," Sig added.

"That we can," Komali agreed.

"And another thing: I don't even know why we're doing this. You said it would help your friend, and there's someone doing evil things or something, but that doesn't tell me much," Sig continued.

"I understand what you're saying," Komali told him.

"…So, aren't you going to try to convince me to go with you?" Sig asked, pushing his glasses up.

"Convince you? No, I completely see where you're coming from," Komali said. "I mean, jeez, the way you put it, I don't know why I'm even going along with this."

"Are… are you serious?" Sig said.

"Well, yeah. I mean, seriously, the danger and all that, who wouldn't be nervous? And I know more about it than you do. We've already been attacked a couple times. You got off easy though," Komali commented.

"How do you mean?" Sig inquired.

"Well, I guess it would help if I gave you the whole story on Sakon and his buddies, the ones that are causing trouble up here," Komali said.

"Okay," Sig acquiesced.

"Well, for one thing, they're not from around here. They were villains nearly a millennium ago, and their souls were trapped in Ikana, where we're trying to go. But since Selphie got her soul stuck there with them, they've been trying to gather all of the heirs that we're trying to get together," Komali explained matter-of-factly.

"Why would they want to do that?" Sig asked.

"To get out and terrorize the world again," Komali said, as thought it were just a fact of life.

"That's terrible!" Sig exclaimed.

"Basically. So here's how you got lucky: in order to get us all together, they kidnapped us. I got swallowed by a giant fish, Rosari was trapped in a cave, and the twins, Daena and Daieno… well…" He paused.

"…'Well' what?" Komali was still silent. "'Well' what?"

Komali took a deep breath, no longer able to maintain the façade of detachedness. "…When they were kidnapped they got taken to this fortress while their village was burned down and all their family and neighbors were massacred." Sig was wide-eyed. "When Link went to rescue them, Daieno… he…"

Komali had teased Link about his distress over Daieno's death all day. He hadn't been there; he'd never even met Daieno. Being told he was dead hadn't had much of an effect on him beyond the general sympathy one feels for a deceased person. Suddenly telling someone else about it, he understood exactly what this meant. Sakon, Dimitra, Mace, and Curt were killing people to get what they wanted. Anyone else could have ended the same way: the pirates, Rosari's family… Medli or his father. He, Komali, had been the lucky one. The villains could just as easily have taken one of his loved ones. And he still could.

Sig seemed to infer from Komali's silence just what had happened to Daieno. "I just want you to understand that you're in more danger staying here and waiting for Sakon to attack than you are if you come with us."

"I-…" Sig cut off. He still seemed unsure of the whole thing.

Komali looked over at him and turned to face him. "I hear you have some confidence issues," he revealed. "Now I'm going to tell you about a Rito who was scared to get his wings." He pointed to himself. "It wasn't too long ago, actually. My guardian deity, whose scale we need to make our wings grow, was angry, and so no one could go near him. I was scared out of my mind. At the same time, my grandmother had recently died, and I knew that she would have been able to calm him down if she were alive.

"I didn't do anything about these problems. I was content to hide in my room and push away everyone who wanted to help. Part of me was sure that I could do nothing about it because my grandmother was the only person who could. In the end I was proved wrong. Link and Medli both climbed up and saved Lord Valoo and the entire Rito clan. They did it, and I have to wonder if I could have done it too if I'd only tried.

"I'm not trying to pretend that I'm chock full of wisdom, and I'm certainly not trying to preach to you. If you come along, I can almost guarantee you won't ever find me acting this intense. But for now, while I am, I want you to think about what would happen if you did come with us and helped save the world- yes, the whole world. These are some bad dudes we're talking about- and bring Selphie back. Don't think about what would happen if you failed; think about how proud everyone would be if you helped us with this." Sig thought about this.

"Do you want to prove yourself to everyone else in this village? You have to do something for yourself. Not because it's what your GrandDaru did, not because it'll prove them wrong, but because it's something all your own. You were chosen to help us; it's not something Darunia can do. And if you go on in the face of overwhelming danger, well, that'll just make everyone respect you even more."

"You really think so?" Sig asked.

"Think? I know so," Komali answered.

Sig sat and considered what Komali had said. "What if they don't believe it when I tell them what I did?"

"Me, Link, Tetra and the others'll come back and beat some sense into them," Komali winked.

"Don't do that!" Sig exclaimed.

"Okay-okay! Just a joke," Komali waved his hands in defense. "To be fair, what you said is pretty laughable too. They'll believe it, especially with all of us _and_ your GrandDaru backing you up," Komali replied.

Sig thought about it some more. "A week, you say?" he asked.

"Yes," Komali answered.

Sig nodded. "…I'll do it."

"You'll do it?"

"I'll do it."

"No, I don't want to hear this 'I'll do it' crap," Komali replied, leaping to his feet. "I wanna hear 'I'LL DO IT!'"

"I'll do it?" Sig answered, standing

"No! You'll DO IT!"

"I'LL DO IT?"

"No! You'll DO IT!"

"I'LL DO IT!"

"YOU'LL DO IT!"

"I'LL DO IT!!!"

"YOU'RE READY FOR ADVENTURE!"

"I'M READY FOR ADVENTURE!"

"WHAT ELSE ARE YOU READY FOR!?"

"I'M READY TO TAKE A RISK!"

"WHAT ELSE!?"

"I'M READY TO BE MY OWN GORON!"

"AND!"

"I'M READY TO SHOW THEM WHAT I'M MADE OF!"

"WOOO!!!" They were both shouting to the clouds. The fire of opportunity was coursing through their veins. The din of greatness was ringing in their ears. The thunder of adventure was pounding in their hearts.

…And the Gorons of Extendere Febelis were staring in bemusement.

* * *

"I'm worried about Link," Tetra confided. Medli sat across from her. They were in Tetra's cabin, talking on her bed. 

"About the not talking thing?" Medli asked. Tetra nodded. "It hasn't even been a whole day yet, Tetra. It's natural he'd still be feeling guilty."

"Yes, and it's not a problem that he's mourning, it's that I wonder whether he'll be able to put it aside in favor of action if something bad happens here, or when we go looking for the Kokiri and Ikanan," Tetra explained.

"I'm sure he'll be able to," Medli said. "And if he doesn't, we'll just force him to."

"Or beat some sense into him," Tetra added, punching her palm and smirking.

"Hmm," Medli hummed. "Maybe we should go ahead and look up who's closest right now, just so we can get right on it once Sig comes onboard."

"Which hopefully will be soon, if Komali's talk and Mako's weight system both work out," Tetra added, standing and crossing to the Tome of Lineage.

"Rocks in the bottom to provide food for a Goron and counter against top-heaviness," Medli stated, following. "That's a solid plan."

Tetra nodded, opening the book. She had begun flipping pages to find the Kokiri or Ikanan when they heard the ship door open.

"I think I've developed an aversion to motivational speaking." They turned to see Komali walk in.

"You're back!" Medli exclaimed, hurrying over. "Is he coming?"

"Yes, he is. I managed to convince him to join us," Komali answered.

"Took long enough. It's been hours," Tetra commented, looking out at the nearly disappeared sun.

"Hey, we had a lot of issues to work through, okay? Plus I got him to come along a while ago. We've been hanging out the past few hours," Komali replied.

"Really?" Medli asked. "He doesn't seem like the 'hanging out' type to me."

"Actually he's pretty awesome when you crack him open. I think I did that quite nicely," Komali said, sighing in satisfaction.

"Oh, was that you two shouting like idiots?" Tetra smirked.

"Yeah, we promised to never do that again," Komali answered.

"This is great. Now we can leave tomorrow morning without incident," Medli said.

"OY! Miss! There's a pretty big Goron out here that wants to see you!" Zuko's voice came from outside.

"I have a surprise for everyone!" Darunia's voice shouted. The trio glanced among their selves and went quickly to the door. Outside, on the docks and the nearby islands were a large number of Gorons. Lights were strung up between the spires and hung on the bridges.

"What's going on, Darunia?" Tetra asked.

"It's a party for our new friends!" Lobster called from the spire right next to the ship. That's when the drums began playing, and a celebration was set in motion.

The trio glanced at each other, shrugged, grinned, called for everyone below deck to come out and have fun, and went to be out-danced by the Gorons.

_Valoo sat atop Dragon Roost Island. He was on the look out for something, though he did not know what. He'd recently received a tip from two different sources that evil was afoot on the Great Sea once more. One warning came from the water deity, Jabun, who cautioned that an old curse had been replaced upon him, warning that the same may soon happen to him. They could both sense the evil stirring beneath the ocean. But since Jabun's encounter, Valoo had been constantly vigilant, keeping watch for anything that might put a curse on him again._

_There was a sound like thunder over the island as Valoo realized he was hungry (hey, deities gotta eat too, even if not as often as mortals). He understood that Medli could not be there, for the same reason that he was on a lookout. He did not mind. This just meant he had to feed himself. Flapping his great wings, Valoo lifted himself from the top of Dragon Roost and went in search of some sustenance. Usually he ate a large serving of rodents once a week, but he saw below him in the ocean what appeared to be a large fish. Knowing this could fill him up, Valoo swept down and grabbed it with his claws. Swooping upwards again, he threw it up in the air and caught it in his mouth, swallowing in one gulp. After that came a terrible stomachache, and after that was darkness.

* * *

_

Selphie: I think _I_ have an aversion to motivational speeches now. But let's start at the beginning. Sig: he's a sweetie. We'll see more of that in later chapters now that we've got Komali cracking him out of his shell. I have a small picture drawn of him on a notecard. Maybe I'll scan it and post it in scraps on devArt so you guys can see. The glasses make him look adorable. It was his fault, however, that this took so long. I could not for the life of me find a balance between insecurity and emo kid. He's a Goron; he's cheerful; he's friendly; he's fricking awesome. But every time I wrote him he was all like, "I cut my wrists so that the pebbles can _flow!!! _Like the tears I shed for _you!!! _ I'd listen to Linkin Park if I knew it _existed!!!_" Yeah, that just didn't work. So I tried it again and again, and finally he was like, "Well, they don't believe in me, but I know if I work hard I can be just like GrandDaru! ...I hope." He can take care of himself. You'll see...

Did you think they were under attack when that boat started rocking? Dude, I was thinking, "Daru needs to come tell them about Sig, but he's gonna capsize that boat if he's not careful." Lightbulb! I thought it was pretty funny. "Selphie Louise," I said, "You are a comic genius." "Why thank you Selphie Louise. I do try to make my readers laugh. You can't be all action all the time! Hahaha!" And that's when I thought, let's never have such a conversation with myself ever again.

But yeah, you wanna know something? I never intended for it to be Komali that went to talk to Sig. They were going to be all like, "Link! Snap out of it! You go talk to Sig!" and then they would have locked him out. He and Sig were gonna have a nice walk around the island, and Sig was going to tell Link about growing up as Darunia's great-something grandson, and Link would have instilled in him the courage to come with them. After he told Sig about Daieno's death, Sig would tell him about how Gorons prefer to celebrate life than mourn death, and that advice and the tranquility of Extendere Febelis would make Link accept Daieno's death, and Link would be emo no more!

But, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Komali's like, "Hey! I can relate to this kid!" and I'm like, "Whoa! He's right!" And then I thought, "Maybe he should talk to Sig instead. Yeah! Besides, it hasn't even been a whole day since Daieno died! We can't just make Link and Daena get over him just like that!" Hence Tetra's later comment. So, yeah, Komali and Sig are buds now, and Link and Sig will bond once Link stops being emo, which probably won't happen until he has to kick some more monster butt. Anyway, so yeah, Komali's little inspirational speech was a little cheesy, but that always happens when you have to raise someone's self-esteem (somewhere my Calc teacher has just asked thin air how its self-esteem is, and he doesn't know why). All things considered, I think I handled it very well. I liked exploring Komali's troubles with his wings a bit. It's not something I ever really thought about before. I like it. Plus that shouting thing at the end was just kind of funny.

Yay parties! That'll continue next chapter! Then there's Valoo. _Le gasp!_ Whatever could have happened to him? Eh, you just have to wait to find out. Oh, and praise whomever you choose to praise: I did not use any allusions or homages this chapter. I just remembered that that's why I disliked the last season or two of Kids Next Door, so why should I do it in my story except for the odd pun here or there?

In other news, I made it into the chorus for Grease here. Good times! I also got strong-armed into taking the position of Public Relations Director for our Hillel chapter (Jewish club- no I'm not Jewish). I went home last weekend for fall break and surprised my parents. They didn't know I was coming, so it kinda scared my dad when I walked out of my room at 4 in the morning when he went to let out our new puppy (yeah, they got a puppy while I was away). I also switched rooms because my old roommate and I didn't get along. I like this new roommate. She's a sweetie. Two weeks ago I also got Mario and Luigi Partners in Time. I have an idea for a fanfic, but I'm having trouble starting it. Plus it's pretty epic, so it would probably get in the way of ToL, so I'm kinda worried about that. It was an awesome game though. Kylie Koopa is the shit! All of the older people with their younger counterparts was just adorable. I loved the end when Baby Weegie was all like, "Let's-a go!" and Luigi's like "Sorry, you have to go home now," and Baby Weegie was all sad to leave himself. It was so cute and so sad! I wanted to cry! Plus Fawful makes an appearance... _in spandex_. This equates to hilarity. Basically the "Mario and Luigi" games rawk outloud and everyone should go buy them. I'm done.

Okay, well, I will try not to make you wait so long for this next chapter, but Grease goes down in like 2-3 weeks, so we're getting pretty busy. I'm doing costumes for it too, so we'll see how that goes. Alrighty then. R&R KIT&KIR. Hasta for now, folks!


	27. Chapter 26

Selphie: Don't smack your monitor, folks! What you see is real!

Din: You actually finished a chapter-

Nayru: In less than two weeks-

Farore: While busy with college?

Selphie: Yup, indeed.

Tingle: Is that why the "Beauty School Drop Out" angels are all naked?

Selphie: Because I'm being a lazy procrastinator and not making costumes like I should... no. Also because I've just been having such stupenderfuteriftastelous days recently. Life is pure bliss. But since I got this chap to you so soon, I'm not gonna waste any time before you read it. But first: let it be known that this chapter marked the 300th page in Tome of Lineage. The story is 308 pages long. There are few things that I'm more proud of. I just want everyone to know that. Now, go ahead, boys.

Darunia: (grumbles)

Selphie: Darunia's angry at me. More on that at closing notes. For now, Darunia needs to do his job before I fire him.

Darunia: Hmph... Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Daieno, Saeda, Fiyero, Sig, Lobster, and Biggoron, as well as most of those other cool Goron peeps.

Selphie: Read on, readers.

* * *

Chapter 25

Navi marveled at the ability of the Gorons to create a good time for anyone. Medli and Tetra were cheering on Gremlin as he danced against some of Extendere Febelis' best (which was a testament to the open-mindedness of the Gorons). Komali was watching Sig as he rolled in a race over at the quarry, where Zuko and Mako were making a few extra rupees on bets. Senza, Nudge, and Rosari were rooting for Gonzo as he competed in a lava soup-eating contest. Niko chased down Saeda and Fiyero as they ran around with the younger Gorons. The only ones to not take part in the festivities were Daena and Link, who stayed on the ship.

Not that Navi could blame them. Gremlin was taking it all very well, but she assumed it was for the same reason as her: with a long life comes a lot of suffering and death. Gremlin had seen similar slaughters when he was forced into the Dusk Caverns, so chances were he knew how to deal.

"You didn't have to throw this party for us, Darunia," Navi said to her old friend. They were watching the dance contest. Darunia had chosen to go last so that no one would be intimidated and choose not to compete.

"Nonsense! This is a special occasion!" Darunia declared. "We've welcomed into our midst a Hero, a Sage, an old friend, a prince, and three princesses. Not to mention Sig is finally getting the opportunity to go off on an adventure. What's not to celebrate?"

"Nothing, I suppose," Navi replied. "Although, to be fair, we've had some less than celebrated events occur on our side."

"Yes, this is true. However, in Goron culture we celebrate the good and the bad," Darunia responded. "You'll find a funeral here to be only half as sober an occasion as this, and that comes from the ceremony of the pebbles, where we take the Goron's remains and spread them over the places he or she loved."

"That's quite a rite. I forgot the Goron traditions," Navi commented.

Darunia nodded. Then he thought for a moment. "What did you say the girl's name was, whose brother died?" he asked.

"Daena," Navi replied.

"That would make her a Sheikah, right?"

"Indeed," Navi answered. Darunia nodded. Navi chose not to inquire as to what may be going through his head.

"You say you have a good feeling about Sig," she said instead. "Why do you think Sig will make a good leader but no one else does?"

"Ah, it's not the leader part I'm worried about," Darunia shook one finger at her. "Anyone can be a good leader if they really put their mind to it, and I know Sig will do that."

"Then why do you think he'll succeed where his ancestors failed?" Navi asked.

"Why don't the other Gorons like being up so high?" Komali asked, looking up toward the roof over Darunia's house. He and Sig were on their way from the rock quarry to the market spire, where most of the music and dancing were.

Sig shrugged. "I couldn't say for sure, but I agree with you: they're crazy."

"What about you? How come _you_ like it so much up there?" Komali queried.

"That's pretty simple. It's about the closest I'll get to a mountain without scaling Passing Peak, and that's forbidden," Sig replied.

Komali thought back to what Darunia had said about Bear being an ocean Goron. "You like the mountains, huh?"

"Yeah, I mean, the ocean's nice and all, but… I dunno. I just think I'd feel more connected in the mountains. It's where we come from, y'know?" Sig answered.

"Makes sense," Komali shrugged.

Sig sighed, "It makes me kind of sad, really. Everyone else around here is so hung up on making a life on the sea that they've forgotten about our roots. I mean, the ocean wasn't always here."

"Heh, if you'd told me that a year ago I would've thought you were crazy. Gods, what have Link and Tetra done to me?" Komali sniggered.

"Yeah, well, I wish one day I could see some real mountains and feel like I'm up higher than anyone else in the world," Sig said. "The only thing we have to connect us with the old days is fire."

"Fire, huh? That's right, Navi mentioned Darunia was the Sage of Fire," Komali commented.

"Yeah, and he's been teaching me how to use fire magic. I'm not very good yet, but I can do this!" Sig snapped his fingers and a flame appeared at the tip of his index finger.

"Dude! That's awesome!" Komali exclaimed.

"Nah, GrandDaru can do a lot cooler stuff," Sig waved his hand dismissively.

"He's also had several hundred years to practice, hasn't he?" Komali rejoined.

Sig shrugged slowly, considering this. "I guess you're right. It takes a lot of practice to get it down."

"Is that what you've been doing up on that roof?" Komali asked. He thought for a second, "Is that the surprise you were talking about?"

"Basically," Sig answered. "I'm trying to master the Goron roll, pound, and all that stuff before I show anyone I've been working on it. I figure if I can do all that stuff, all the other Gorons will realize I can be Big Brother when I'm older."

"Makes sense, I guess…" Komali replied.

"Yeah, but I still have a long way to go though before I give GrandDaru a rest."

"What d'you mean 'a rest?'" Komali inquired.

"If I become Big Brother then GrandDaru can finally retire and settle down. He's a lot more tired than everyone thinks," Sig divulged.

"Nuh-uh. He looks so alive!" Komali contested, looking up at the spire across from them, where Darunia was watching the dancing contest with Navi.

"He just does a good job of hiding it. There've been nights where he locks himself in his room, and I hear him reminiscing about the old days. I think more than anything he just misses all of his old friends."

"I'm just tired of outliving everyone around me, Navi," Darunia confided in the fairy, returning his attention to his old friend. "You must know what it's like; living after everyone you cared about has died." Navi bobbed silently. "It was hardest to watch Link go- my son that is. Then I had to watch my granddaughter, Anya, my great-grandchildren, Doreen and Buster, and so on. And if I'm wrong about Sig, I'll live to see him die too."

He smiled though. "But Sig's got the power. I know it."

"How do you know?"

"Well, for one thing, he's already learning fire magic," Darunia nodded sagely.

Navi's eyes widened, though no one could tell. "Already-?"

"Hi, GrandDaru!" They turned to see that Sig and Komali had arrived at the dance scene,

"How are you, kids? Are you having a good time?" Darunia greeted.

"Great. You Gorons sure know how to throw a party," Komali complimented.

"You haven't seen it all yet. Sig's just about to show us how he dances," Darunia leered playfully down at his great-something grandson.

"What?! You know I've got two left feet!" Sig protested.

"You just need the right beat! And I think I know just the right one. Right, Navi?" Darunia turned toward the fairy with a smirk.

Navi lit up happily. "You mean-!"

"Edge! Follow this beat!" Darunia declared.

"You got it, Big Brother!" Edge, the drummer, replied.

Darunia and Navi leapt into the middle of the group and started singing: "Doot-doot-DOO! Doot-doot-DOO! Doot-doot-doot-doot-DOO doot-doot-doo-doo-doo!"

"Oh!" "Oh! Oh!" "Oh, yeah!" "Hot!" "What a hot beat!" All the other Gorons started tapping their feet.

As the drums kept playing, Darunia was dancing like a wild man, and he turned to Sig. "Come on in, Sig! There's plenty room for all of us!"

Komali and Sig looked to each other. "Get in there!" Komali laughed and pushed Sig in. Sig pulled him in after him, and soon everyone there was in a big clump dancing to the song of a long-gone Kokiri girl.

"YAHOOOOO!!! I LOVE THIS SONG!!!" Darunia shouted.

* * *

Later that night, the rest of the pirate ship was still out having fun on Extendere Febelis. Link, however, remained below deck, still musing. Daena had more or less remained in the same spot the whole time, not speaking unless spoken to, and then replying with the most minimal statements. 

Link heard a knock from above. It didn't come from the door, however. It sounded as though someone were knocking on the ceiling. Getting up from his place at the table, he went outside to see who it was. There, kneeling on the dock, knuckle against the deck of the ship, was the Big Brother of the Gorons.

"Oh, hi, Darunia," Link greeted with some confusion. "Uh, why aren't you at the party?"

"Actually, I came to visit your Sheikah friend," Darunia replied, standing. "Could you bring her out here? We've all seen what happens when I try to come on your ship." He laughed at this.

Link tried not to think about why Darunia would want to visit Daena, but went below to get her anyway.

When they returned, Darunia greeted, "Peace be upon you." He held out one hand palm up to Daena. She stared at his hand for a moment. "I see you are unlearned in the customs of your ancestors," he said, smiling benignly. "Just place your hand in mine." Daena complied complacently. "May the gods comfort you among all other mourners of the Sacred Realm and the hallowed temples.

Daena stared at him when he released her hand. "You're weird," she said, turning to return to the ship.

"There's truth in that," Darunia nodded. "However, I am trying to help you right now."

"Help me? You don't even know what I've been through," Daena stated.

"I know better than you think," Darunia answered. "I've lost many of my loved ones over the years."

"Well, maybe I don't want your help. Maybe I don't want to be consoled," Daena replied, turning to leave.

"Would you rather sit down there and cry senselessly over your loss?" Darunia countered. Daena paused. "When Sig's parents died, he was very young, but he found solace in the traditions of his ancestors. I think the same may help you."

"Even if that's true, you're a Goron and I descend from a Sheikah," Daena replied.

"A Sheikah I knew quite well when she was alive," Darunia said. "The Sheikah and the Gorons were neighbors, so I knew their customs well."

"I'm not in a great mood to uphold their customs," Daena stated. "I'm in this mess because of my ancestors-."

"And you think they owe you something, not the other way around," Darunia said what he knew she wouldn't. "But _you_ would be the one benefitting, I guarantee it. Just listen first, then you can ignore everything regarding the Sheikah if you want. But just hear me out first."

"No, I'm not going to hear you out," Daena retorted loudly. "I lost my only brother last night. _Last night_. You, none of you, even knew him, but he was _my_ best friend. And, if it's alright with you, I would prefer to mourn him in my own way, a way that does not involve Gorons who never even _met_ him; a way that does not involve our ancestors, who are the reason he _died_; a way that does not involve forgetting my brother _one day_ after his death. Did it occur to you that we didn't even get to say goodbye? No funeral, no body even. That's not something I'll be able to get over just like that. So, I'm just going to go back inside this ship and cry because obviously I am the only one who really gives two craps about my brother's death."

She turned on her heel at that instant and strode across the deck to the door. Grasping the handle angrily, she jerked the door, but it did not budge. "It's locked," Link stated, holding up the key. Daena stomped back over to get the key.

"If you're going to leave without listening to my advice, I do want you to know one thing," Darunia said.

"Yeah, what?" Daena spat, taking the key from Link and turning to cross back.

"Even if you blame your ancestors for your loss, I think you should know that your eyes look just like Impa's," Darunia told her. Daena stopped dead in her tracks. "Perhaps not as red, but the resemblance is definitely there-."

"Uh, Darunia," Link interjected, drawing the Goron's attention to Daena. Link circled around to stand in front of her. She had lowered her face, hiding her eyes behind her bangs.

When he had stopped in front of her, Daena said, "Daieno and I had identical eyes."

"…Daena, I didn't know Daieno well at all," Link said. "But I know you did. You probably knew him better than anyone else." She sniffled and nodded. "So, tell me, if you had been the one to fall into that pit, what would Daieno do?"

Daena was silent for a few thoughtful moments. "He would probably want to honor me with our ancestors' customs… And he would probably want me to do the same for him…"

"You've already done several," Darunia stated, and Daena turned around to face him again. "For a week after a family member's death, Sheikah assume the role of the mourner. During that time, family and friends gather to give their condolences to the immediate family. To do so is considered a great religious act of loving kindness and compassion."

"…I guess that's two down," Daena replied and sniffled again. "What else?"

"At the end of the week you gradually return to normal activity, but you should recite the mourner's prayer every day for at least a month. I do not know the actual prayer, but I'm sure you can simply pray," Darunia answered.

"Anything else?"

"It is customary for the mourner to make a tear in an outer garment and to not mend it until the end of the mourning week. They are relatively easy practices, and they do well to honor the deceased's memory," Darunia explained.

Daena nodded very slightly and turned around and walked back toward the ship's door. When she got there she paused and turned to look back at them. "Peace be upon you… was a greeting my father taught me… I guess it comes from my ancestors…" She opened the door and disappeared.

Link turned to Darunia. "Thanks for that," he said.

"I thought it might help. I hope it all turns out for the best for her," Darunia replied.

"Yeah, well, I meant me too," Link said. "I know I haven't been the most friendly person today."

"Navi mentioned that this was your first death," Darunia said.

"Yeah, up until Daieno I saved everyone I set out to save. I guess I just-."

"Link, I understand completely," Darunia cut him off. "And if a comparison helps, far more people died when your predecessor was being held in the Temple of Time for seven years."

"Yeah, but there was nothing he could do about it," Link responded.

"The way I hear, there was nothing you could do about this death," Darunia replied.

"I guess not…"

"Well, then if nothing else you've got luck on your side," Darunia said. "If you can get by with one death when there's nothing you can do when Link the first lost… well, a lot of lives when he couldn't do anything about it, that's quite a difference." Link couldn't help but crack a smile. "You're gonna be okay, kid. Even if you lose a few more down the line, rest assured it will be their time. Fate takes no prisoners, as I'm sure you know. Darunia added the last part with a nudge to Link's marked left hand.

"Thanks, Darunia," Link smiled.

"No problem. Now, are you going to join the festivities?" he asked, striking a dancing pose.

"No, I still need to stay to keep an eye on Daena. But I feel better now," Link replied. Darunia beamed with satisfaction. "Goodnight, Darunia," Link said, turning to return to the ship.

"Goodnight, brother," Darunia answered.

* * *

Niko sat bolt upright. Breathing heavily, he looked around desperately, trying to remember where he was. The last thing he remembered was being pounced upon by those four. Realizing that he was back on the pirate ship, Niko put his hand to his chest and tried to slow his breathing. 

"That must have been some dream." He started again, looking to his left where Saeda was sitting in a chair at the table. On one shoulder sat Fiyero. Gremlin sat on the floor next to the table. Niko looked up toward the windows. The light was just peeking through.

"What are you doing up so early?" Niko asked, rubbing the side of his head.

"Gremlin no sleep at nights, so is still 'wakes," Gremlin replied.

"Aren't you tired?" Niko asked.

Gremlin shook his head. "Noes. Other ball is says Gremlin have different pattern or somethings."

"What about you?" Niko turned to Saeda.

"I heard someone talking, and I thought it might be Fiyero, but he was awake too," Saeda answered. "So I came out here looking, and I found you talking."

"I was talking in my sleep?" Niko asked.

"Somethings 'bout door," Gremlin said.

"'Till fool or hero violate this door," Saeda supplied. Niko thought for a moment.

"'_Traitors in life. Traitors at core._

_Forever a plague. No longer these four._

_Reprisal swift and forever more_

_Till fool or hero violate this door…'_"

Niko muttered to himself the words he'd spoken in his dream, which had, apparently, become recurrent. Since the night before, when he was attacked by the kargoroks, he could not sleep without awakening from that same dream. "What does that mean…?" he wondered to himself, staring at the floor.

"Niko?" He looked up again. "Are you okay?" Fiyero asked.

Niko shook the thoughts from his head and then nodded to them, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He looked up at the sunlight again. "I guess there's no point going back to sleep at this point. Do you guys want breakf-?!"

Suddenly the ship was thrown to the side. Saeda was almost thrown off her seat, and the fairy fell off her shoulder. They heard several thuds as those who had been in beds fell out of them. Those who had been sleeping on the floor were tossed against the wall and were instantly awoken and grumbled at the sudden wake-up.

"Didn't Miss Tetra ask Darunia not to come on the ship until-?!" Niko started, but the ship was knocked again. Suddenly they heard the rest of Extendere Febelis come alive as Gorons started shouting in alarm. Suddenly everyone on the ship seemed to wake up.

"HOY!!! DANGER!!!" Zuko shouted from the crow's nest.

"Something's wrong!" Link shouted as he and Komali came rushing out of Link's room. They, Niko, and the other pirates charged the ladder to get upstairs and outside. They met Tetra and Medli on their way out.

"That wasn't Darunia!" Tetra declared as they rushed to the door. Outside was pandemonium. Gorons who had been out for an early start were running back to their homes in terror. Wind swirled around and waves were crashing up over the lower levels of Extendere Febelis. Suddenly a great and terrible roar thundered through the air, and they all looked skywards to see the source.

"Oh, gods!" Medli gasped.

"Maybe you shouldn't be calling to your god right now," Tetra said, looking up at the assailant.

"Lord Valoo?!?" Komali exclaimed. There, above Extendere Febelis, large wings beating and swirling the air and water below him, red scales glowing like fire in the sunrise, was the great dragon deity himself. And he looked angry.

"Waitses! Gremlin comes!" Gremlin shouted, running out of the ship, wearing his new hat and mask.

While they looked back to see Gremlin, someone shouted, "Heads up!" Suddenly Valoo dove at one of the spires. A Goron was standing there.

"No!" Link moved fast to draw and nock an arrow and then fire it at Valoo before he could devour the screaming Goron. Valoo recoiled and glared in the direction the arrow had come from. Seeing Link and company, he flew toward them but quickly turned and flew upward again. He circled Extendere Febelis several times until he finally came to rest at the top of Passing Peak and let forth a deafening roar. The group stared for another moment before they started off in the direction of Darunia and Sig's house.

Lobster was standing outside the front door. When he saw them approaching he waved them over hurriedly. He was no longer smiling. "My friends! Come quickly!"

They rushed over to him. "What's the word, Lobster?" Tetra asked.

"Big Brother and Sig went to Passing Peak. Big Brother wants you to meet him there quickly. Come, I'll show you the way," Lobster explained quickly.

They wasted no time and crossed a few bridges to the island closest to Passing Peak. There, at the top, Darunia, Sig, and Biggoron stood at the end of the bridge, watching the mountain summit and the dragon perched atop it.

"Darunia, I swear I don't know why Valoo is attacking!" Komali exclaimed when they reached their Goron friends.

"He is usually quite gentle, I promise," Medli added.

"Calm down, calm down," Darunia replied, waving one hand at them, but keeping his gaze fixed skyward. "This has more to do with the Gorons than it does with the Rito."

This statement confused the group, but they were more concerned about why they were just standing there watching Valoo.

"Uh, Darunia? Shouldn't we be doing something about this?" Tetra asked.

"We will, just wait," Darunia answered.

They stood there in bemusement for a minute or so more. "…What we waits fors?" Gremlin asked finally.

Gremlin had barely finished his question when they all heard a loud rumbling, and they had barely registered this noise when the mountain and all the spires of Extendere Febelis began shaking with earthquake force. The bridges trembled under the stress and swayed more dangerously than they had in any wind. Most of the Gorons rolled into their curled positions and trembled with the ground. Sig, Lobster, and Biggoron did this; Gremlin fell on his back; Tetra dropped to the ground and Link covered her; and Medli and Komali fluttered into the air in alarm. Darunia, however, stood his ground and continued to watch.

After what seemed like hours, the rumbling stopped and the earth stood still once more. The Gorons were slow to stand again, and when they did they did not return to their business. They walked cautiously, and many hid inside their houses.

Darunia turned to face his friends. "That is what we were waiting for."

"How did you know that would happen?" Link asked.

"I don't guess you guys know this, but Passing Peak is actually a volcano," Darunia explained. "One that Navi should be familiar with," he added, turning to the fairy.

"You mean Death Mountain?" Navi asked in surprise.

"The very same, and the only way that dragon can sit up there is if he's blocked off the crater," Darunia said. "That means all the heat is trapped inside. If it doesn't cause the whole mountain to explode, it will at least continue to make earthquakes until our village falls apart and crumbles into the sea."

"Why would he do something like this, though?" Tetra wondered aloud.

"Our deity is on a rampage again. Your villain has reached Extendere Febelis, I'm afraid," Darunia replied.

"Your deity? But that's Lord Valoo. He looks after Dragon Roost Island and all the Rito," Medli said.

"Actually, he was our god first," Darunia said.

It took Navi a moment to register this. "Wait! Are you saying that Valoo is actually Volvagia?!" she exclaimed. Darunia nodded. "How does that work? Who looks out for you now?"

"Slow down, Navi!" Darunia said. "There's no time for that right now. At the moment, I would just like to find out what's making him so upset right now. Your Sakon and his friends are starting to worry me."

"Because they've influenced a deity?" Link asked.

"Exactly," Darunia said. "Anyone who can do that has-."

"Serious power. We know. They already revived Barinade and made Jabun swallow Komali," Link said.

"Well, as long as they're copying Ganondorf, I've got a feeling Volvagia will be hungry for Gorons next," Darunia pointed out.

"Uh, should I be standing in the open then, Big Brother?" Lobster asked nervously.

"Yes. Danger or not, Lobster, I need you and some of our brothers to help make those weights and balances for Tetra's ship. Our friends need to get on their way as soon as possible so they can put an end to this evil," Darunia said.

"…I'm on it, Big Brother," Lobster said, retreating to rally his friends.

Link turned to Navi, "We're going in. If we can find out what's wrong with Valoo, I'm sure we can fix it. Gremlin, Medli, are you two coming?"

"We go!" Gremlin declared, and the group was about to cross to the entrance to Passing Peak, when Darunia stopped them.

"Hold up there, kids," he said. "I've been in this mountain before, and I'll tell you right now, you can't get through without a Goron." He looked like he had more to say, so they waited. "Which is why I'm coming in with you."

"Great!" Link said. "Now let's get going before your village is destroyed."

"Hold it." Biggoron spoke up for the first time. "Forget why you brought me up here?" he said from the end of the bridge, where he was inspecting the bridge. "The wedge anchors on this bridge have lost tension from the earthquake." He stood and turned to Darunia, "They'd hold most Gorons, but not you, Darunia. Not you."

"How fast can you fix it?" Darunia asked.

"It'll take a good half a day to cast a new anchor," Biggoron replied.

"Shoot!" Darunia muttered to himself, crossing his arms.

"…Darunia, we can go in by ourselves. I'm sure we can handle it," Link said.

"No, no combination of weapons you may have will get you through without a Goron, and no mere Goron can get you through either. It requires a number of our special skills," Darunia responded. "We'll just have to wait for Biggoron to repair the bridge."

"But that'll take hours!" Sig exclaimed. "And won't there be more earthquakes, or couldn't Volvagia swoop down and start eating Gorons?" He considered it for a moment. "What if I went in with them instead?"

The surprise showed on everybody's face. "You mean that?" Darunia asked.

"Yeah. This is our home, and these are our friends. I wouldn't be able to call myself a Goron if I wasn't willing to help," Sig replied.

At that moment, Darunia's chest swelled with pride. "You are absolutely right, Sig. And I couldn't call myself Big Brother if I didn't support your decision," he said. A moment later he pulled Sig into a big Goron hug.

Komali looked over at Medli and sighed. "As long as Sig's going, I might as well too," he said. "It makes sense to split up the heirs anyway, that way if there's an attack while we're in there, Sakon and his buddies won't get all of us at once."

"Makes sense. Medli, do you mind staying?" Link asked.

"Well, if you've seen one volcano you've seen them all," Medli shrugged, looking to Komali and putting a finger on this chest. "You be careful though, do you hear me?"

"I hear you," Komali replied.

"All right, just get going, and hurry up in there," Tetra said, hurrying them along. The group nodded, and Link and Gremlin quickly ran across the bridge with Navi close in tow.

"Careful! You don't wanna shake it loose!" Biggoron called. When he was sure Link and Gremlin had crossed, Sig looked to Komali, who nodded and flapped into the air. He followed Sig overhead as the Goron carefully crossed the bridge. They met Link and Gremlin at the other side and stepped through the cavernous entrance.

* * *

Selphie: Yeah! Paaartay! That was fun. I hope I didn't confuse too many people with the random scene change. I thought it would be interesting to do, so that I could have Darunia and Sig share the explanation instead of telling stuff twice. Kind of an interesting device. I probably won't use it again anytime soon.Sig can do fire magic? Gasp! He's got the power! Navi knows what that means, and it shouldn't be too hard for Zelda buffs to figure out. I won't ruin it for those who don't know though. Poor Daru, though. He's all aged and misses all his friends from Ocarina of Time era. His great-grandkids, Doreen and Buster, by the way, are so named because of the Gorons' sword-making fame: Doreen was Masa and Mune's big sister in Chrono Trigger (Masa and Mune make up the sword the Masamune), and Cloud Strife wields the Buster Sword in Final Fantasy VII. I just couldn't think of any other names. When I used to roleplay Anya was actually the name of Daru's daughter-in-law, but I needed a name, so I used it. 

"Doot-doot-DOO! Doot-doot-DOO! Doot-doot-doot-doot-DOO doot-doot-doo-doo-doo!" is, of course, Darunia's absolute favorite song, Saria's Song. Ocarina of Time fans might recognize the comments of the other Gorons in relation to the song.

Darunia did a great mitzvah of loving kindness. No, I'm not using the word mitzvah just for the heck of it; that's really what Darunia did. When I was researching the stages of grief for Daena, I stumbled upon the Jewish mourning customs. And I thought of something, so I looked up the meanings for Daena and Daieno's names. The closest thing I found to Daena was Dana, which is English based as "mother of the gods." However, Dinah is pretty close to both names (phonetically), and it means "judgment" or "who judges" in _Hebrew_. Plus sheikhs and sheikhahs in the real world are Middle Eastern, which is generally the same geographic locale as early Judaism. So, since I've given the Gerudo Spanish qualities, and the Deku French qualities, and the Gorons more or less Jamaican/Antillean, I'll give the Sheikah Jewish qualities. So, I'll have fun with that. And yay! Link is better again!

Jeez-Louise! What is up with Niko's dream? I dunno why I like writing him and Saeda together. It's just cute to me. (shrugs) Did you guys think it was Daru coming on the ship again? If so, then haha! Gotcha! Valoo's possessed or something! Oh, noes! And he's really Volvagia? How did that happen? I'd tell you now, but I'd rather put the explanation in the story. Earthquakes and eruptions: yay geology! And who guessed that Passing Peak was actually Death Mountain? If you did, then good job! Sig's confidence is really kicking in, huh? I love learning new things when I write. I actually looked up bridges and learned about wedge anchors and stuff, just so I could be engineering-ly correct when I wrote for Biggoron.

New dungeon! And I bet you thought they were gonna leave without incident. Actually, I think you knew they wouldn't, but it doesn't matter to me either way because they're going into Passing Peak, and it's gonna be awesome. The number of people going in has multiplied, though, hasn't it? Very rpg-esque though, huh? Perhaps we should just have random encounters from here out. Link can be the Fighter (cause he likes swords), Gremlin can be the Monk/Black Belt (they used hands and claws instead of weapons), Sig can be the Black Mage (he got fire magic), and Komali can be the Dragoon (you gotta figure his attacks would be aerial-based). I'm just joking. I would not do that. It's still kinda funny though.

I would've had this done two days after the last chapter went up if it hadn't been for the Daena scene. It, like so many other scenes, just wouldn't write. But it happened, so yay! I've also, obviously been busy (as are some of the reviewers, since I haven't heard from a lot of you!) with classes and clubs and plays and boys.

Darunia: See! I have reason to be angry!

Selphie: The guy that plays Eugene in Grease asked me out. It's not a big deal (did I type that with a straight face?). I adore college. That never would've happened in high school. Speaking of high school, Thanksgiving break in two weeks! I'm coming home and the first thing I'm gonna do is go see my high school's production of Our Town. Then I'm gonna go out with them for their cast party. Yay! And Grease opens in 6 days. Teh crazehness! And also, Nip/Tuck is an insanely sexy show. Don't watch it if you're underage. Okay, I'ma go now. Costumes are calling, and I must answer. R&R and KIT&KIR. Hasta for now, folks!


	28. Chapter 27

Selphie: Whee! I totally blew off homework to write this chapter!

Din: Do we have to start dropping books on your head again?

Selphie: No, I was joking. I did my homework. I mean, not that there's much to do since I'm only three days into the semester.

Darunia: This semester thing is weirding me out. What happened to quarters?

Selphie: Get used to it. You've got seven more to live through. Anyway, new dungeon coming your way! I give two nods to the new Zelda game, Twilight Princess, in here but no spoilers. By the way, Twilight Princess is pretty awesome. Not as good as Wind Waker, in my opinion, but still frickin sweet. And I only got it for the Gamecube. Wii version's probably epic.

Nayru: How could it be? We weren't even mentioned!

Selphie: I thought that was an improvement. Anyway, I don't ruin it for you, but I have to disclose two things that made me want to scream (happy scream). One is that there is a Goron character named Gor Ebizo who calls you "brudda" and another named Gor Liggs who wears tribal paint and meditates. I was so right about the Antillian thing! Also, there's another Goron, their leader, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Mr. T. If you don't understand the significance of these two occurences I suggest that you read my closing author's notes of Chapter 22. Now I turn it over to Darunia and Tingle for the disclaimer.

Darunia: Okey-day! Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Saeda, Fiyero, Sig, Lobster, and Biggoron, as well as most of those other cool Goron peeps.

Farore: You're awful cheerful, Darunia. I thought you were mad at Selphie.

Darunia: Nah, she never went out with that guy, so I'm happy.

Selphie: Read on, folks.

* * *

Chapter 26

Several centuries ago, when Hyrule was threatened by twilight, the Gorons had a mining operation in one area of Death Mountain. However, since then the mines had been closed off for they lay down too far below the sea level. Death Mountain became a sacred and forbidden place, and surely it must have seemed so to the group of adventurers who now navigated its entrance tunnel by light of the torches that lined the walls. Link kept glancing at them curiously.

"Is that sage fire?" Navi asked.

"Yup, GrandDaru cast it years ago so it would stay lit forever," Sig explained. "I think it's pretty much everywhere here, so at least we'll be able to see."

"Well, I see a problem," Komali declared. The problem was a large pile of rocks that completely blocked off their path. "Can we move them?" he asked. Link and Gremlin each were already trying to move the heavy rocks, but they were packed tightly in.

"The tremor must have triggered the cave-in," Navi observed.

"What do?" Gremlin asked.

"Can you break them with your hammer, Link?" Komali suggested.

"That would take way too long," Navi stated.

"You _could_ try striking it with your sword," Sig said. This brought the conversation to a rather abrupt halt.

"Uh… Sig-?" Komali said.

"No! I don't mean try to break it with your sword," Sig clarified. "Your sword will make a different sound if it hits a wall that can be blown up by the Gorons' special crop."

"That's right!" Navi exclaimed. "How could I forget?"

"What is Goron crop being?" Gremlin asked.

"Bombs," Sig and Navi replied. Link was already drawing his sword. He swung it against the wall of rocks. _Cling!_

"Was that it?" Komali asked.

"I… I'm not sure, I never really hit my sword against a wall before," Link replied. He turned and struck the wall of the tunnel. _Clang!_

"Sounds like it's bombable," Sig said.

"Alright, stand back," Link instructed, removing an explosive from his bomb bag and lighting the fuse. They all stood back until the blast had gone and dust cleared from the air.

"Success," Navi called it when she could look down the tunnel to see the ash cones of Death Mountain Crater. "Let's go." Link led the way with his friends right behind him. Suddenly Link felt his stomach flip and he realized he was falling.

"Holy-!" "Watch out!" he heard Komali and Navi say above him and he saw Gremlin to one side of him and to the other he saw Sig roll into a ball. Gremlin managed to slow and stop his fall by digging his claws into the walls. Link, however, was freefalling, and it was a long way down. The last thing he remembered was a grunt as Sig hit the floor before him, and then terrible pain accompanied by cracking sounds at various places in his body.

* * *

Link had the sense that he was not where he was supposed to be. He opened his eyes to verify this hypothesis. It was correct. He found himself lying on a thick, plush carpet. His whole body felt incredibly sore and there was a distinct throbbing in his head, which he reached back to feel. Both his arm and his head hurt when he did that. 

"Ah, you're finally awake." Link moved his eyes as opposed to his neck to see who had spoken. Standing near his left side was Darunia. He realized that the rug must be in his room. "You took quite a fall from what Komali told us."

"I… might have…" Link replied, himself not sure of what exactly had happened.

"I know; it didn't make sense to me, either." Link rolled his eyes to the right and saw Tetra and Medli. "You survived our catapult ride into the wall of the Forsaken Fortress, but a pitfall put you out cold for hours?"

Link could only muster a look of confusion. "You can't remember what happened can you?" Medli asked.

"…No…"

"You are so out of it," Tetra part smirked.

"Fortunately we have a cure for that!" Link could not lift his head to look at the doorway.

"It's about time, Lobster!" Darunia said. Lobster appeared next to Link with a steaming goblet in his hand.

"Open wide," Lobster said.

"What?" Lobster put the goblet to his mouth and tipped it. Link was forced to swallow a piping hot liquid that was at once sweet and spicy. When it was down Link sprang up, coughing.

"What _was_ that?!" he exclaimed.

"Ancient Goron remedy- lava juice," Darunia replied. "Very good for clearing a person's head."

"Yeah, I noticed," Link replied. "Do you mind telling me why I'm here instead of Passing Peak?"

"Well, about four hours ago we had just begun to build the weight system for your ship when Komali came flying out of the mountain with you hanging underneath him," Darunia said. "At first I thought something had happened and worried that Sig was trapped, but when we went to meet you guys we found you unconscious."

"Do you remember bombing a wall of rocks?" Tetra asked.

"Not really," Link replied.

"Well, then you probably don't remember the floor there becoming unstable and dropping you down a hundred foot hole to land on a pile boulders."

"Nope, but I guess that makes sense," Link replied.

"Komali told us Sig said he heard a lot of cracks when you hit, but after you went unconscious a fairy flew out and healed you," Medli added.

"Lucky for you," Tetra said.

"Komali flew down and flew you back up and out," Medli said.

"Okay, so that explains why I'm here," Link said. "Has Valoo done any more damage?"

"He's roared a few times, but he's still up sitting in that crater," Darunia said. "That's worse than if you were flying around though. There have been tremors every hour that are keeping Biggoron from getting any work done."

"Well, we'll put a stop to that. Where are the guys? We're going back in," Link declared.

Everyone else in the room glanced amongst themselves. "Remember when Jojo knocked you out and we didn't do anything till you woke up?" Medli asked.

"Yeah, I appreciated the gesture, but, y'know, it wasn't really necessary."

"Good, because they've gone to save the day themselves," Tetra said.

"WHAT!?!"

* * *

"Boy is okay?" Gremlin asked as Komali touched down at the bottom of the hole. 

"I left him with Darunia and the girls. He's still out cold, but they think he'll be okay," Komali answered. "Did you guys look up ahead?"

"Is tunnel and big room," Gremlin replied.

"I couldn't use a sword, but I'm pretty sure there were a bunch of bombable walls in there," Sig said.

"We have trouble without boy," Gremlin said worriedly.

"He's lucky he had that fairy with him. You three will have to be extra careful. We don't have any fairies," Navi said.

"Actually Link had a few fairies on him," Komali commented.

"Yes, but he's not here," Navi pointed out.

"His… bottles are…" Komali looked away. It took the others a few moments to work out what that meant.

"You took his bottles?" Sig asked incredulously.

"He had three fairies on him. I figured we could each keep one on us just in case," Komali said.

"I can't believe you took Link's stuff!" Navi declared. "…Did you at least get his bombs too?"

"Yeah," Komali said, pulling out the bomb bag. "And the bow and arrow and the skull hammer. Take it, it's heavy," pulling each out.

"…Is this moral?" Sig asked, taking the hammer as Komali handed it to him.

"Of course it is," Komali replied, handing the bombs to Gremlin and slinging the bow and quiver over his shoulder. "Link uses most of this stuff in dungeons and temples, and besides, Tetra gave me permission and she's a princess. Plus, if what you guys said about those walls is true, we're gonna need it too. Now lead the way."

Sig was still feeling a little fuzzy on the moral details of taking Link's tools, but he decided that since it was for the good of his people and they would return them to Link as soon as they got out. He, Gremlin, and Navi showed the way to the room with bombable walls. It was the shape of an elongated octagon, and there were eight bombable walls. "This part of the floor looks like the walls too," Komali said.

"We 'splode floor too?" Gremlin asked.

"Go for it," Komali said. Gremlin shrugged and placed a lit bomb on the floor. A hole appeared in its place. It was a bit dark below. "Who wants to go down first?"

"Gremlin go. Find way up," Gremlin said.

"I'll help," Navi said, following as he dropped down the hole. Komali or Sig might have had trouble seeing through the darkness, but Gremlin had no trouble spotting four green lizards about the size of a small child, and they had no trouble spotting him. They scampered toward him, growling and showing off their sharp baby teeth.

"Baby dodongos," Navi identified.

"Gremlin no want hurts babies," Gremlin said. He turned toward the dodongos and knelt down and they stopped. "Hello, babies," he smiled. "Gremlin am creature too! You no is haves be a-scarededs." They cocked their heads curiously. Gremlin thought he had made friends, but one leapt at him, and he changed his mind. When it leapt again Gremlin ducked to the side and slashed at it with his claws. A few slashes and the young lizard slumped to the ground. Its brothers were still coming for Gremlin though, so he moved away, which was a good thing because the body flashed red several times and suddenly exploded, catching one of the others and killing it too.

"You guys okay down there?" Komali called.

"We're fine!" Navi called back up while Gremlin disposed of the last two dodongos. Where the last one exploded a small key appeared. "Hey! Pick it up! We can use that!" Gremlin obediently picked up the key.

"Now climb ups," he said and moved to the wall. However, when he stuck his claws in and attempted to climb, they slid. He tried again and could not get a grip.

"What's the matter?" Navi asked.

"Wall too softs," Gremlin said confusedly. He knocked some off and held it out for her to investigate.

"It's packed with ash," Navi said. "It'll fall apart when you stick your claws in. Better look for a ladder." Gremlin nodded and looked around the room. There was a little niche on the far side of the room. When they approached they saw the ladder in it. At the top, however, they were met with a wall. "Well, that's a problem." Gremlin thought for a moment.

"Guys! What's taking so long?" Komali called down the hole.

"Do… do you think something happened to them?" Sig asked nervously.

"I don't know, but I'm about to head down and find ou-." _KABOOM!_ The two were startled by the explosion and looked over to see one of the walls had disappeared.

"Is found ladder," Gremlin stated, stepping through.

"And a key," Navi added.

"Good, now all we have to do is find the door," Komali observed. They began the demolition with the wall to the right of the door they'd entered from. Inside was a chest with bombs inside. They worked their way counter-clockwise, and the next niche held a baby dodongo, but the one after that had a chest with a map inside. Two blue rupees and one baby dodongo later they found the door.

In the next room the dungeon moved up to the next floor by way of a steep hill. After a few attempts, Gremlin and Komali both realized they couldn't walk up it even though Sig had already rolled halfway up to where there was a small shelf where he could stand and wait for them. He looked proud of himself. Komali flapped his wings and joined him while Gremlin moved to the wall.

"Wall is stupid," grumbled Gremlin after finding this wall to be composed of ash as well.

"What's the problem?" Sig called down.

"Gremlin no cans climb. Wall is stupid," Gremlin replied.

"Can you climb up the hill instead?" Sig asked. Gremlin attempted this.

"Hill is stupids also," Gremlin ruled.

Komali flew down and landed next to Gremlin. "Okay, Medli and Link did this when they went into the Earth Temple. Pick me up and hold me over your head," Komali instructed.

"Gremlin not bird boy slave," Gremlin retorted, crossing two arms and placing the other two hands on his hips.

"No! I'm going to fly us both up there," Komali responded. "You hold onto me, I flap my wings."

Gremlin, begrudgingly, complied and lifted Komali over his head, holding onto his ankles. Komali flapped his wings and lifted them into the air, flying over the hill and alighting on the shelf with Sig. "You look tired, Komali," Navi commented as he climbed down from Gremlin's shoulders.

"Shut up," he panted. "Do you wanna carry him?"

"Gremlin not heavies," Gremlin huffed.

"Well, you should have a moment's rest before the rest of the flight," Navi said. "You probably want to shoot those down before you fly up there." She was drawing their attention to several flying skeletons. "Staldactyls. It's been a while since I've seen one."

"Good to know. Will arrows do?" Komali asked. Navi bobbed, and Komali knocked an arrow and aimed. It sailed wide right and missed all three staldactyls.

"Good aims," Gremlin snickered.

"Y'know, I've got a mind to leave you here," Komali said, taking aim again. This time he struck one, but the arrow seemed to pass between the bones in the skeleton. "Yeah, arrows work great." He thought for a moment. "Hey, Gremlin, hand me a bomb."

"What are you doing?" Sig asked.

"Getting creative with your 'special crop,'" Komali answered. He took a bomb and stabbed an arrow straight through.

"Are you crazy?" Navi exclaimed.

"Maybe a little," Komali replied, lighting the fuse and knocking the arrow. He took quick aim and fired. Fortunately it hit and the staldactyl met an explosive end.

"That was cool," Sig grinned.

"I don't know if I'll teach that to Link or not," Komali smirked, obviously pleased with himself. He got creative with a few more bombs and took down the other two staldactyls. "All clear." They rolled and flew up the hill and made their way into a tunnel that curved around. When they reached the end, however, they met a doorway blocked off by a portcullis. "Did anyone see a switch of any kind?"

"No. How do we get through then?" Sig replied.

"Hey! Look up there!" Navi grabbed their attention and flew up to a hole in the wall. "You can climb through!"

"I don't think I'll fit through there," Sig remarked.

"It's too close to the ceiling for me. I wouldn't be able to pull myself in after I stopped flying," Komali added.

"Wall is not stupids!" Gremlin declared, halfway up the wall already. He scurried through the tunnel and dropped down at the other end. He could only assume he was in the room on the other side of the door. It was a round room with six unlit torches around the outside and one lit torch in the center. "Gremlin is thinks is needs fire torches," he said to himself.

He climbed back up and through the tunnel and poked his head out above his companions. "What's the matter?" Sig asked.

"Is needs arrows," Gremlin replied. They were tossed up to him and he crawled back through.

"Can he even use a bow, you think?" Komali asked Sig.

"I don't know, but at least he's in there trying. More than I can say," Sig answered, walking toward the door.

"You mean _we_. I'm not in there either, y'know," Komali pointed out. "Don't you dare start beating yourself up. We've only gotten three rooms in."

"Yeah, but you and Gremlin have done all the work so far," Sig countered.

"Well, whoever designed this place wanted to lead non-Gorons into a false sense of security," Komali shrugged it off. "Darunia did say that Passing Peak is impassable without a Goron."

"I hope he's right. I don't want to be dead weight in here," Sig said.

"You'd be _a lot_ of weight, man," Komali smirked. At that moment, the door opened, and Gremlin stood there with bow in one hand.

"Door open," he stated. "And is found this!" he held out a compass.

"Excellent. Let's find out where that big key is," Komali said.

"Ahead of you," Navi said. "It's in a room at the top of the volcano."

"Nowhere to go but up then," Komali declared as they crossed to the door. The door slammed shut behind them and was blocked off by a portcullis. "Whoa!" Komali exclaimed.

"Is hots!" Gremlin declared.

"Really? I think it feels nice," Sig commented. The reason for the heat was the lava that covered much of the floor. The room was long and high-ceilinged with only two places that weren't covered in lava: the island on which they were standing and an overhang at the opposite end of the room. Their view was impeded by a ceiling-high wall about five feet wide. Several magtails crawled out of the lava. Komali shot them in the eye and Sig smashed them. They'd been in their several minutes by then, and Komali and Gremlin were getting visibly uncomfortable.

"Okay, let's just find the door and get out of here," Komali said, tugging on his collar.

"I don't see a door anywhere," Sig said as Navi moved to fly around the wall.

"There's a hole in the ceiling and a hole in the floor here," she reported. They came around to see, and suddenly were met with a jet of fire coming out of the hole. "I see. We could use that to ride up if we had a block or something. Too bad you didn't grab the Cane of Somaria."

"How was I supposed to know?" Komali asked.

"Gremlin not likes hot," Gremlin said, sitting down as his ears and tail started drooping.

"Can you fly up and take a look around that ledge?" Sig suggested to Komali, who shook his head listlessly.

"How are we gonna get out of here?" Komali posed, looking well below par.

"I don't know, but you two aren't going to last long if we don't," Navi said. Non-Gorons, she knew, generally lasted about ten minutes in intense heat like this. She turned around and suddenly noticed the ramp across the lava. It was easy to miss: it wasn't that long, but it was very steep. None of them would be able to walk up it, but, "Sig! You can roll up that ramp!"

Sig turned around and spotted the ramp too. It was daunting. "Uh… I'm not sure I can, Navi," he said.

"Sig, I hate to put the pressure on you like this, but if you don't roll up that ramp, there's a good chance you'll be carrying me and Gremlin out of here, assuming you can find yourself a way out," Komali said. "C'mon, man. This is your chance." Sig looked uncomfortable for a moment but then curled up and rolled toward the ramp. He rolled slowly up about halfway and slipped backwards. He tried again and got just a little bit further, but it was obvious this wouldn't work. "Sig-."

"I got this," Sig assured them. He uncurled and ran back to the door. He knew that he would need to build up speed before he hit the ramp if he wanted to get up. Back to the wall for maximum acceleration space, Sig curled up again and began rolling, faster and faster as flames started to encircle his body. Suddenly he felt a stabbing feeling in his back, but he hit the ramp and it disappeared. Up, up, and Sig hit a wall.

As he bounced back he uncurled and landed. He was on the ledge. In front of him was a large circular slab of rock. He stood directly behind it and could see the wall and the jet of fire over the top of it. Knowing immediately what he had to do, Sig wound up and hit it with a hard Goron punch. The slab went flying, hit the wall, and fell to the hole. He rolled down and met his friends. Komali was grinning. Sig grinned back.

"Let's get out of here," he said.

The room fell below them as they were shot upwards. The platform flew through the hole in the ceiling and up a dark tunnel. Suddenly they met light. Not sunlight, nor even torchlight. It was an unidentified light, but what was more important was what they saw by it.

As the tunnel disappeared, they found themselves staring in awe at a city carved into the cave. Reaching four stories over their heads, doorways, hallways, and stairways all carved in the ancient stone. The remains of several tattered banners with the Goron insignia adorned the archways, and broken torches lay dusty and broken in the manways. Faded paint on the walls depicted Gorons dancing.

They jumped off at the height of their ascent and allowed the slab to fall back below. Upon landing, they realized they'd just jumped out from a huge pot with Goron faces sculpted into it. They stood at the bottom of the city. Nearby a large wooden structure lay splintered, snapped ropes laying about it. Two wooden beams with hookshot targets in them were partially detached from the wall and not resembled broken slides.

"Are we in…?" Sig wondered aloud.

"Goron City!" Navi exclaimed. The walkways were crumbling, and the dust laid thickly everywhere, but there was no mistaking the ancient Goron City. They all stared around, unsure of where to go next. Sig was the first to notice the out of place sound.

"_B-b-b-boooo hooooo!_"

"What's that?" he said. The others listened for the sound.

"I don't hear anything," Navi said.

"Listen," Sig instructed.

"_B-b-b-boooo hooooo!_" It sounded so far away but close at the same time.

"Up here," Sig said, curling up and rolling up the broken beams to the third level up. The others followed. When they reached him, Sig was approaching a door, which had a bomb flower on either side.

Navi recognized the spot suddenly. "This is where we met Darunia's son, Link!" She was proven correct when, as they approached the spot, a small Goron came into view.

"_B-b-b-boooo hooooo!_" he cried. "_Everybody was taken to the Fire Temple. While my dad was out Ganondorf's followers came and took them all away! All of them will be eaten by Volvagia! Dad said that Ganondorf has revived Volvagia as a warning to those who might oppose him. Ganondorf is going to feed them all to Volvagia! Dad went to the Fire Temple all by himself to try to save everyone. Please help! I'm sure that the shop owner, who is hiding somewhere right now, will help you in return! Now, I'll tell you about the secret passage to Death Mountain Crater! Try to move the statue inside Dad's room!_"

Suddenly they heard a scraping noise and turned around to see a door in the bottom slide open. "That used to be Darunia's room," Navi elucidated. When they turned back, Link was gone.

"That's where we need to go then," Sig said. He led the way back downstairs, but he paused before he got to Darunia's door.

"What's up?" Komali asked.

"The crater will probably be worse than that room below us," Sig said. He turned to face Komali and Gremlin. "There's no way to tell how long we'll be in there, so you two will be in trouble again if we don't do something."

"What we cans do?" Gremlin posed.

"The Goron shop!" Navi said, flying to an obviously bombable wall with a bomb flower on either side. "It used to sell Goron tunics. They'll protect you from the heat."

Gremlin pulled out a bomb and used it to destroy the wall, and they strode into a small room with nothing but a counter at the back and two large switches on the floor. Sig stepped onto one, and it sank with a click. "Komali, Gremlin, stand on the other. It needs a lot of weight to press it down," he said.

"Gremlin not heavies," Gremlin repeated.

"Exactly, which is why _both _of you have to stand on it," Sig replied. Gremlin complied, and the floor switch clicked. Suddenly four shelves flipped down from the back wall. Two shelves were dedicated to bombs alone, which Gremlin happily used to refill their bomb bag. There was red potion, from which everyone took a drink. The item they had come for, the Goron tunics, sat upon the top shelf. Komali and Gremlin each took one (Gremlin using his claws to cut the extra arm holes), and one extra.

"Are we ready?" Navi asked.

"Let's get back on track," Komali said, and they made their way to Darunia's old room. It looked much like his new room, with plush carpets (that were not so plush anymore), torches, and a large statue modeled after a Goron. Sig stepped up and moved it out of the way, revealing a dark tunnel. At the other end was Death Mountain Crater at last.

* * *

It was some time after Komali had brought Link out unconscious that the Gorons and pirates completed the weight system in the ship. Link, Tetra, and Medli were thanking Darunia and his people for their help and kindness. 

"It is in our nature, brother," Darunia replied.

"Well, it's a feat nonetheless," Tetra assured him.

"Yes, well, your friends are in Passing Peak as we speak, working to relieve us from Valoo's rage," Darunia said.

"I just hope they can handle it," Link said.

"_You_ hope? I'm going out of my mind worrying about Komali," Medli said. Darunia laughed.

"Well, though I enjoy your company immensely, my brothers want to return to the safety of their homes until this ordeal is over," Darunia informed them.

"Completely understandable," Tetra said.

"You and your crew are perfectly welcome to take shelter in my quarters," Darunia offered.

"Well, we appreciate the offer, but we want to draw the danger off your islands as soon as possible, so we'll be making our preparations to cast off," Tetra replied.

"I understand as well," Darunia nodded. The Gorons began to disburse. "I'm sure you'll know when they emerge from the mountain, so I'm sure I'll see you when that happens."

"Later, Darunia," they waved as he made his way to his home.

"Speaking of preparations, I think the place to start is to get a bearing," Tetra said.

"Let's look at the map in the Tome of Lineage," Link agreed. They made their way into the ship's cabin and into Tetra's room.

"Let's see, let's see… What page was that…?" Tetra muttered to herself as she flipped through the pages. "Ah, here we are." She found the map section. The first page was a map of the book's current location. There was a medium-sized dot in Passing Peak to show Komali and Sig's whereabouts while a large dot marked the location of Tetra, Rosari, and Daena. The next pages showed maps of nine different quadrants of the ocean. There was one problem that they saw on these maps though.

"I don't spot a dot for the Kokiri or the Ikanan," Medli stated as Tetra flipped through these pages over and over again.

"There has to be a mistake," Tetra said, turning the page once more. "The only dots I see are on this map."

"Well, look at the more detailed maps of their locations," Link suggested.

"That doesn't help if we don't know where the island they're on is located," Tetra replied.

"We can't find the island they're on if we don't know what island it is," Link responded. Tetra turned the pages of the map section. The Gerudo, the Sheikah, the Zora, the Goron, the Kokiri, the Hylian, and the Ikanan all flipped by.

"Huh… that's weird," Tetra remarked, looking at the Kokiri and Ikanan maps again.

"All the maps show this ship as being the location of the heir," Medli said.

"But how can that be?" Tetra asked. "We didn't track down the Kokiri _or_ the Ikanan."

"Unless…" Link said and paused. "...Unless we picked them up on accident." The girls looked at him for a moment. "May I?" he asked, taking hold of a page of the book. Tetra leaned out of his way as he began flipping through the pages to the family trees. Ikana was the first one he found. He traced his finger down the last page to the last name on the list, and his eyes widened. The girls leaned in to look.

"No way…!" Tetra breathed.

* * *

Selphie: So, about the dungeon (yes, I know I'm terrible for hanging you off a cliff, but it's important... not really, I just like the Marquis de Sade), I obviously took a risk knocking Link out and excluding him from it. I'm not really sure what made me do it, but the story would not write with him there, which tells me that that's how it's supposed to go, and I made the right choice. So... kudos to Link. He gets to take a breather. By the way, everyone remembers Jojo, right? If not go back and reread Chapter 7... wait, was it really that long ago??? August 4, 2004. Crazy how time flies. Anyway, that's what Medli's talking about.

Whoa, is Komali some kind of cleptomaniac? Nah, he got Tetra's permission. Not that she really has the authority to let Komali borrow Link's stuff, but she let him know where it went anyway (she does, I swear, even if I didn't include it). Well, crap, they brought Gremlin because he can see in the dark and climb walls, and one of those isn't even working. I don't know what led me to have him and Komali snip at each other, but I think it's funny. And, yay! Sig got even more confidence! Lookit him! He's all in take charge mode now. By the way, the "ghost" (I'm not sure I would call him that so much as a memory) of Link uses actual lines from Ocarina of Time, although I changed a few words here and there and omitted a bit. Next stop: Death Mountain Crater, where they should have been if not for that stupid pitfall.

Okay, back to the last part. Oh, gods! Are the Ikanan and Kokiri already on the pirate ship? What a plot twist that would be! And if so, which of them is it? It should be fairly obvious with all the hints I've dropped around, but for those who didn't pick up on them, you'll just have to wait until next chapter to find out who it is. Then it's off to find the Scriptures of Melody (haven't heard that term in a while)!

Okay, that's all I have about this chapter (pretty short for an author's note). However, I would like to draw everyone's attention to Chapter 3. As I write new chapters of ToL, I'm also going through the process of revising earlier chapters that were written when was less experienced. Not to say they're bad, I just think they can be improved drastically. The first change to take effect is Chapter 3, where Link meets the gods and goddesses paintings. I changed the names of three deities, the appearance of all, and added one. I think it's better now. I'm currently in the process of rewriting the prologue so that it's less Sue-ish (one of the main things I'm seeking to fix in these revisions). Go check it out.

Another semester of college. It's still awesome. My Core professor is sexist though. Football came up in our discussion of the modern era and she had the nerve to ask the _guys_ for help. I stood up and announced that as a member of the open-mindedness group I would not stand for such a stereotype. Girls can be just as hardcore football fans as guys. My English professor was a Dallas Cowboys fan when she was a little girl. I warned her that we would have problems (for those who don't know, the Redskins and Cowboys are bitter rivals. I'm a Skins fan). Christmas was sweet. Like I said, I got Twilight Princess over my break and beat it twice. I'll buy it again when I get a Wii next year. I also got Final Fantasy 3 for the DS. Also awesome. Anyhow, I'm at work on the next chapter. I'd like to know, though: should I post the map of the dungeon before or after I write the dungeon from now on. My reasoning for not has been not spoiling future events, but if you guys tell me it'd be easier to follow with a map handy while reading, I'll start posting maps prior to dungeons (there should be at least five-six more).

Okay, well, that's all! R&R and KIT&KIR! Hasta, folks!


	29. Chapter 28

Selphie: Seems spring semester's slightly more involved than fall semester.

Din: So five months later we make it back to the priority list?

Selphie: Basically.

Nayru: That blows.

Farore: Hey, at least it's summer break now. She'll have all day every day to write. Right?

Selphie: ...So, I got a job.

Goddesses: ...Great.

Selphie: Anyhow, it's here now. So, read on.

Darunia: Okey-day! Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Saeda, Fiyero, Sig, Lobster, and Biggoron, as well as most of those other cool Goron peeps.

Selphie: A few more characters appear, but I don't want to spoil them. So, read on and find out!

* * *

Chapter 27

The air in Death Mountain Crater wavered in the intense heat. Stone and wooden bridges, built and rebuilt countless times after countless eruptions, crossed over the lava below. Ash cones, long dormant until that very morning, sent black smoke and soot up to the sky, but the billows could not escape to the heavens, for the mouth of Death Mountain was blocked off. Creating a roof above them was a red, crystalline ceiling, below which gathered the smoke and ash and upon which sat the great Lord Valoo.

Sig suggested that they take a look at their map to figure out which of the many bridges to take. Komali watched as Sig and the others pored over the map and evaluated their options. Something seemed different about the Goron, and not just his new air of confidence. He looked physically different… Komali rubbed his eyes and squinted, trying to figure out just what it was.

"All right! This way, then," Sig declared, rolling up the map and leading the way toward a bridge off to their left. He stopped when he realized Komali hadn't followed. "Hey, Komali! This way. There's a plant over here that'll take us up the crater." Nodding as he followed over to the bridge, Komali decided to write the change off as a trick of the heat waves. Sig placed a tentative foot on the bridge and, feeling it sag a little, decided to roll across instead and proceeded to the other side quickly.

On the other side was a platform with a strange symbol on it. Into the wall they could see a stone doorway and a dark tunnel. "The Fire Temple is through there. After he and the Hero of Time defeated Volvagia there, Darunia awakened as a sage," Navi told them. "This platform here is the destination for anyone who plays the Bolero of Fire."

Sig took a few steps toward the Fire Temple and stared at the darkness beyond the tunnel. "I wish I could see it…" he said, staring longingly. The others had already gathered around a large plant with wide, flat leaves. He took a few more steps in the temple's direction.

"Sig!" He was pulled back to reality and joined the others. "Navi thinks it'll hold your weight, but just to be safe, Gremlin and me are gonna go up first. You ride up right after us, okay?" Komali said.

"Sounds good," Sig nodded. He watched from below as the plant lifted the Rito and creature off the ground and floated around the crater.

"Hey," Komali elbowed Gremlin to get his attention. "Does Sig look different to you?"

"What is means?" Gremlin asked.

"Like… I dunno. Something's changed about him, I think," Komali failed to explain.

"Hmm… Gremlin think birdie-boy is spends too longs in heats," Gremlin replied. Komali grunted in response and then sighed deeply, shaking his head. Not far from the top, the plant stopped a few inches above an outcropping, and the boys hopped off and waited for Sig and Navi. Some distance away was another outcropping, and though Komali could have flown Gremlin across the distance, Sig would have been stranded, so they opted for the door nearby.

"It occurs to me, that we are basically stranded up here and that there is no turning back," Komali said suddenly, as they walked down the passageway.

"I don't know about you, but I never planned to turn back anyway," Sig replied just when they'd reached the door at the opposite end, finding it locked with a portcullis.

"Liar," Komali smirked. Sig would have responded if he had not noticed the other occupants of the room.

"Gorons?" Sig wondered aloud at the sight of them. Ten or so of them were curled up on the floor throughout the tunnel, rough backs and yellow spots clearly visible. Upon hearing the word, the "Gorons" opened their eyes… which were positioned on their backs.

"That's not normal," Komali said, taking a step back.

"That's because they're not Gorons," Navi said.

"Nejirons!" Gremlin added. The creatures began hopping up and down angrily, making grunts that Sig, Komali, and Navi could not understand. "They says they is sos Gorons," Gremlin said.

"You understand them?" Sig asked.

"They is creatures like Gremlin, so understands," Gremlin replied. "They says they is not nejirons, that they is Gorons like you is." The nejirons grunted some more. "Why else they is in mountain," Gremlin translated.

"Gorons aren't even allowed in Passing Peak anymore. It's supposed to be sacred ground, not to mention unstable. If they _were_ Gorons, they would know that," Sig replied.

The nejirons grunted again, and Gremlin translated, "They has permissions from Older Sibling."

"It's Big Brother," Sig corrected them. "And why would GrandDaru give them permission to be in here?"

More grunts. "Um… they is specials."

"Hmm… s_pecial_," Komali repeated, tapping his temple, smirking.

"Oh, please. They don't even have arms or legs. They only look like Gorons in their coloration," Sig retorted.

Gremlin translated more grunts, "They says they is better Gorons. They more evolved, not need stupid arms and legs." The nejirons grunted once more, and Gremlin rolled his eyes as he interpreted. "They says you is too stupid and not evolveds to understands."

"WHAT?!" The nejirons were now hopping up and down and their grunts were distinctly laughter-like. Sig narrowed his eyes and took a step toward them, but Komali cut in before he could do anything.

"Cool it, Sig. You can't attack them if they don't attack us first," he said.

"They're insulting my people!" Sig retorted.

"Sig, look at them. It'd be too easy to insult _them_. Don't let _them_ get to you," Komali replied. Sig scowled and took a few deep breaths.

"Ah… Any chance you guys can open this door for us?" Navi addressed the nejirons.

There were a few more grunts before Gremlin's ears drooped. "Um… they not help stupids little pebble-ron …"

Sig's eyes widened. "Uh… little what?" Komali asked.

"Pebble-ron. That's a nasty term for Gorons that haven't reached their prime yet," Sig explained sullenly.

"…Sig," Navi turned toward him. "I get the impression that you have to defeat these nejirons in order to open the door. Would you do the honors?"

Sig took a deep breath, and then he smirked. "I would be quite happy to take care of these nejirons," he said, pulling out Link's skull hammer. The nejirons ceased their laughing and quickly attempted to retreat to the other side of the room.

As Sig chased them down, Komali turned to Navi, "So… prime. What the heck is that?"

"Gorons become adults when they reach their prime," Navi replied.

"So, it's like a rite of passage?" Komali asked.

"Not really, it's the physical state of their body. Gorons age differently than other races and have a higher life expectancy, around a hundred years," Navi explained. "Youth age at relatively the same rate as Hylians until they reach their prime, which can be anywhere from late teens to early thirties. Usually they grow at an even pace until they reach an adult body, but sometimes a young Goron will have a sudden growth spurt and reach adulthood at an accelerated rate, growing from adolescent to prime in a matter of months as opposed to years. This may be caused by genetics, or, in some cases, it is the result of a rite of passage. Upon reaching their prime, they are adults, and they cease to age for many years, usually around sixty to seventy. Then they begin to age normally again until they die. Other factors like bloodlines or sage-hood, apparently, can quicken or slow a given Goron's pace. "

"Wow… so that's what Darunia meant when he said Sig wasn't done growing," Komali said, looking down the corridor at his friend, who was now swinging his hammer at one of the two remaining nejirons. "So, what about the other races? Like the Zoras; how fast did they age?" Komali inquired.

"Zoras were pretty much even with Hylians and Gerudo. Kokiri aged until they turned ten and ceased to age until they died, which was impossible to predict. Sheikah were much like Gorons except that prime for them was much older, more like fifty, and they ceased to physically age at all after that."

"How about fairies?"

"We don't age at all," Navi replied. "Actually, I'm curious about Gremlin," she said, turning toward the creature. "You remember a time before the caverns, but the creature wars were over fourteen hundred years ago. You've been alive that long?"

"Ehm, Gremlin difficults explain," Gremlin shook his head, waving one hand dismissively as the portcullis over the door slid away. "'Nother times."

"Another time what?" Sig asked, approaching with the hammer over his shoulder.

"Nothing important," Komali replied. "Let's just keep moving." Sig shrugged and followed them out the door.

* * *

"_It iz time."_

_Dimitra disappeared from her spot on the table, and reappeared next to Sakon where he relaxed on his bed. He sensed her presence and opened one eye to peer at her. "We 'ave recouped enough power. We must act quickly before zee homme finishes wiss zee dragon."_

"_Let's go, then. Mace! Curt!" Sakon called out, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed._

"_Is it time?" Mace asked, crossing to them with Curt slung over his shoulder (reasons for this were better left to the imagination)._

"_Yes, now take this and do exactly as you're instructed," Sakon charged, handing a piece of chalk to Curt as Mace turned around so the Zora could face Sakon._

"_Yes, Dad," Curt smirked, taking the chalk._

"_Hey!" Sakon growled, grabbing Curt by the gill. "We only have one shot at this. It'll take weeks to recoup if we fail, and by then those brats will have rescued the girl and we'll have no more connection to the outside world. If you fuck this up, I swear to every god there is that I will make this eternity a living hell. You will wish you'd never attacked your king just so you would never have met me. Are we clear?"_

_Curt eyed him warily, deciding that this was a loaded threat. "Crystal," he replied cautiously. Mace set him down and he turned to Dimitra. "What do we do?" Dimitra made Mace move the table while she instructed Curt in the construction of an expansive and very elaborate magic circle._

"_I don't think I ever congratulated you, Mace," Sakon said, stepping up next to the Goron as they watched the circle grow. "That was an exceptional bit of plotting, I must say. I'm very impressed."_

"_It happens from time to time," Mace replied. "I got caught before my powder keg project, but I did pull off a few other plans."_

"_Indeed, I recall. It occurs to me, I'll never get the chance to thank the king and his fools for bringing together the four greatest villainous minds in Termina. Their descendants will just have to feel the burn," Sakon smirked. They watched for a few more seconds. "Fooling them into saving the island instead of coming right to Ikana so that we have enough time to revive our master and allow him to follow them in to save us… genius, Mace." He patted his hand on Mace's arm before walking away toward Dimitra and Curt._

"_We almost ready?" Sakon asked._

"_We will be ready when we are ready. Two inchez, Curt!" Dimitra acknowledged Sakon and moved on._

"_How much longer, Dimitra?" Sakon asked._

"'_Owever long it takes to finish ziss circle, which may be never if Curt does not learn 'ow to draw a two-inch line," Dimitra replied._

"_What do I look like? A Zora ruler? I'm doin' the best I can," Curt retorted._

"_Dimitra! We have a limited time frame here! If the boy comes--!"_

"_I know what will 'appen if zee homme gets 'ere first, Sakon. 'Owever, ziss iz a delicate process, and I will take zee time required to ensure zat it is not screwed up too badly. Curt! I said two inchez! Not un and trois quarters, not two and one quart, two inchez!"_

"_Do you wanna do it yourself!?" Curt rejoined crazedly._

"_Dimitra--!" Sakon attempted to cut in again._

"_Sakon, __if you weren't so impamtiemment, we would finish ziss much quicker, non?" Dimitra cut him off and snatched the chalk from Curt's hand. She measured two inches with her thumb and shoved the chalk back into his palm. "_Zat_ iz two inchez! Use it for reference!"_

_Curt leapt to his feet and stood over her. "Screw you, Dimitra!" he shouted, throwing the chalk to the ground._

"_Curt, you aliboron! Get back to work! We do not 'ave time for ziss, maudit!" Dimitra ordered him, glaring up at him._

"_Finito! Vaffanculo! Non più!" he started shouting at her in his native Zoran. They continued to trade arguments and expletives in Deku and Zoran until Dimitra had soundly threatened Curt with a number of painful spells to his sensitive areas if she did ­not escape from their prison._

_Selphie watched all of this from across the room, hiding underneath the table again after Mace had moved it. She knew precisely what they were up to, and she would have stopped it if she'd thought she were able. However, especially following Dimitra's threats on Curt, she knew that it was beyond her to halt their evil doings._

_The circle was completed. Dimitra summoned her partners and directed them where to stand. A characteristic of the circle was the large triangle inscribed within and each angle was dissected by a line segment, the three segments meeting the circumference of a smaller inside circle. Dimitra stationed a villain at each point and took her own place at the center, carrying the sash with her. Sakon examined all of the lines and segments from his place. "Why are you in the middle with us at the edges here?" he asked suspiciously._

"_For zee same reason zat _I _told Curt 'ow to make zee magic circle: ziss is a complicated spell and zee language and wording are very precise," Dimitra explained. "I may 'ave trusted you wiss zee pronunciations. 'Owever I would not trust zose two wiss zee gods' alphabet."_

"_What's that got to do with where you have us?" Sakon pressed._

"_Instead of trying and failing to teach all of you 'ow to say zee spell, I will say it myself and zee circle will channel your magic to me so zat zere will be enough power to complete zee spell," Dimitra replied._

"_Forget I asked," Sakon rolled his eyes._

"_You wanted to be sure zat zee spell would work, non? Well, ziss is zee only way to do zat wiss such limited time," Dimitra stated. "We 'ave several hours extra as a result of Mace's plan, but zat is not much and it is not enough to prepare zee sree of you. Now, do you want to raise our master, or shall we rot in 'ere forever?"_

"_Oh, just get it over with," Sakon returned, waving his hand dismissively._

_Dimitra turned away and lowered her head, closing her eyes. Then she began chanting in a low, faraway voice. They did not understand the words she spoke, but they knew sounds were working when the lines on the floor began glowing. Suddenly the chamber became lit up as light shot out of the floor within the circle, blinding all present. A few seconds later it dissipated slightly, allowing everyone to see again._

_For Curt everything was gold-washed, for his corner of the triangle was now emitting yellow light. He looked about in bemusement and amazement as Dimitra continued her chanting. Mace's sight was pink-shifted from the light in his corner. He stood there with his arms folded across his chest, simply waiting for it to be over, not much caring for this flashy type of magic. Sakon saw everything through teal light. His arms were also crossed over his chest. However, his stance was decidedly more tense, his left hand gripping his right arm tightly. As she chanted, Dimitra caught sight of the nervous gesture and looked Sakon square in the eye. He stared back searching for reassurance, a sign that their plan was still on track. She nodded to him and continued chanting._

_At almost the same moment, the light surrounding the three men seemed to sink back into the floor, absorbed into the lines. And then, it shot back out again, conducted through the line segments toward the center, toward Dimitra's circle, which instantly radiated orange. The light swirled around and around her and began to expand once more to the outer circle, reaching higher and higher until it seemed to pierce the ceiling of their prison. Everyone seemed to realize at the same time just how loud Dimitra's voice had become. While before it had seemed to come from a far off place, it now echoed and sounded through everything and everyone, coming from within and without._

_And then it stopped. The boys glanced around at each other, unnerved by the sudden stop. "So…" Mace broke the silence almost a full minute later._

"_Was that it?" Sakon asked, still not stepping from his place as Dimitra still had not moved either._

"'_Was that it?!' Were you paying attention?! What more did you want? A twenty-one fin salute?" Curt exclaimed incredulously._

_Sakon ignored him and focused on Dimitra, whose head was lowered once more, hiding her expression. "Dimitra."_

"_Oui. Zat was it," she replied._

"_Finally!" Curt threw his hands up in the air, and retreated with Mace._

"_Why was my light pink?" Mace asked. Sakon nodded and turned around, walking back to his bed. Dimitra looked up with a triumphant smirk on her face._

"_It iz done."_

* * *

Far from Extendere Febelis, in the northern waters of the Great Sea, only three souls remained in the dark and foreboding bastion of Forsaken Fortress.

A year ago, Mila, the former debutante turned pauper, and Maggie, once destitute now prosperous, were on rather bad terms. They had since become very good friends, all because Mila was willing to ferry Maggie across the Great Sea to see her boyfriend, Mo, a moblin.

Mila docked her boat inside the fortress' harbor, and the two climbed out. "When we were trapped in that dingy, little cage a year ago, I would have given anything to never see this place again. Now I'm making weekly trips here!" she commented, tying her boat. Maggie started her way up the stairs to find her boyfriend. "And who would have guessed my visits would be to one of the very guards who kept me locked up here?" she called to her friend.

"I just know Mo will be glad to see you again. He was worried you'd been caught in a storm on your way to work the other night. You know he's taken to watching the weather lately," Maggie replied from the first landing. "I wonder where he is? Mo!" she called out through the fortress. Mila finished with her boat and joined her. "Mo!"

"Hey, Mo!" Mila joined her calls, but they got no response. "He's here, right?"

"Mmmaybe he's sleeping," Maggie suggested, leading the way up the next flight of stairs toward the arena-like area there and to the large wooden doors on the other side. Walking in, Maggie called out, "Oh, Moby-poo! Your little Mag-pie is here!"

"I think I may be more disgusted with your relationship now than when you two started dating," Mila rolled her eyes upon hearing the pet names. "Is he in here?" she asked as they looked around the big room.

"I don't kn--." _Crack!_ The girls looked about, startled. "What was that?" Maggie asked nervously. Mila didn't respond but moved toward the door. The cracking continued outside the door. "Was that Mo?"

Mila shook her head slowly, unsure of what exactly it was that she was seeing. Maggie joined her at the door to see for herself what was occurring. Suspended about twenty feet above the ground was a large rock with a something stuck in the top of it. It was an eerie-looking stone; it rather resembled a person. In fact, as they watched, it began to look more like a person and less like a boulder until suddenly, with a large _snap!_ and a burst of light, the rock exploded into pebbles. The girls shielded their eyes from the light. When they opened them again, the boulder had been replaced by something far more frightening.

Mila turned around, ashen. "_Hide!_" she hissed. There were barrels in the corner, and Mila grabbed Maggie by the arm and pulled her toward them. Just as they'd hidden beneath the barrel, the double doors flew open. A large, dark figure stepped into the room. They peered through the cracks in the barrel, and Maggie gasped audibly. The figure turned in their direction, and Mila quickly covered Maggie's mouth to muffle the sound. He moved in their direction, and they cowered in their hiding space, cornered with nowhere to go. Just as it seemed they would be discovered, he stopped and turned around.

"Hmm… the creatures have all left… I shall need those four minions more than I expected…" he mused to himself. "I shall make myself comfortable in the interim." From nowhere, a comfortable chair appeared next to him and he sank into its velvet cushions. A moment later and the flames sprang to the torches on all the walls, inside and out. Mila caught a glint of something on the ground outside beyond the door. It appeared to be a sword, a sword whose blue hilt was wrought with wings and a golden triangle.

The girls had seen that sword before; it belonged to the boy who'd saved them… from the man in the chair.

* * *

Tetra paced back and forth in her cabin. Link was sitting in the chair, staring at the book, and Medli stood next to him, dazed. Tetra shook her head. "How is that possible?" she demanded.

"It's right here in the book--," Link replied.

"I know that, but _how_ is it _possible_?" she repeated crazedly. "I mean, there was no indication. I know the country's been gone for hundreds of years, but for the gods' sakes, there had to be something. I mean, Komali's the Rito prince; Daena's the daughter of her village mayor; Sig's the great-_whatever_ grandson of the Gorons' Big Brother. Why didn't _he_ stand out? And how do we talk to him now? 'Oh, hello, your highness, royal prince of Ikana. How's it going? By the way, sorry for treating you like _dirt_ all these years!'"

"I'm sure he'll under--," Medli started.

"You know how he got aboard the ship? He was seven; he was an orphan; we took him in on charity-- _charity!_ He never got special treatment! Nothing! I'm a princess, so what'd I get? Captain! He's a prince, so what'd he get? A mop and bucket!"

"Tetra, will you please calm down?" Medli requested.

"I'd love to, Medli. Really, I would, but I'm freaking out here! I just found out one of my pirates, one of my men, is one of the royal heirs we've been looking for, and I've been ordering him around most of my life. How do you think that looks? And how do we tell him? How do you tell a person that?"

"Tetra, someone had to tell you, if you recall," Link interjected.

"That's different! I at least had a piece of the Triforce as proof. What do we have to show Niko, huh?"

"Show me what?" They each started at the sound, turning to the door to see Niko standing in the frame.

"You-- you're-- the--," Tetra stammered. "I can't. I can't do it!" She turned to Link and Medli, "You do it."

Niko looked at each of them uncertainly. "Uh… what's going on?"

"Well, uh… we came up here to find out where we can find the Ikanan, and, well, we found something kind of interesting," Medli explained. Niko nodded for her to continue. "The Ikanan is already on the ship… and has been all along."

Niko stared confusedly for a moment before his eyes widened. "Oh, no! Selphie's the Ikanan, isn't she?!" he exclaimed.

"Ye-- wait. What?" Link blurted.

"That can't work! She can't play that song from down in Ikana. She's going to be trapped there forever!" he rambled.

"Niko! Selphie's not a princess! Remember she told us she's from a small town, soldier father, seamstress mother," Link elucidated. "And besides, she's not the one in the book."

"But she's the only Ikanan on this ship," Niko pointed out. "Unless you count me, but what are the chances of that happening, right?"

The others were silent. Link and Medli glanced between each other while Tetra stood in the background, trying to keep herself in check. "…Wait… what are you saying?" Niko asked slowly.

Link replied, "Well, Niko, it just so happens that--."

"Oh, for the gods' sakes! You're the heir, Niko!" Tetra exclaimed.

Niko didn't respond at first, but then he smirked and nodded his head. "Oh, okay. I get it. Good one, guys. You really had me going there. 'Let's tell Niko he's a prince! It'll be a great laugh!'"

"Niko, in case you haven't noticed, but now's not the time to be playing practical jokes!" Tetra rejoined, pointing to his soulless friend in the corner and then out the window where they could just see Valoo at the top of Passing Peak.

"But… I mean, it _has_ to be a joke. I can't be a prince. I'm the bottom rung on the pirate ladder! You're a captain; Komali's a prince; what am I? Huh?" Niko responded.

"A prince," Link replied.

"It all makes sense now," Medli added. "The attack two nights ago? They weren't going for the door; they were going for you!" Niko considered this when something else occurred to him.

"My dream," he murmured.

"Your what?" Tetra asked.

He looked over at her. "The night we got attacked, I… well, I fell asleep on duty," he replied meekly. "But when I did, I had this dream that I was back in Ikana, at the ceremony where the Elegy of Emptiness was made. I… I dunno. It seemed so real. And when I sat on the throne…"

The others stared at him for a moment. Suddenly he turned on his heel, "I need some air," and disappeared from the room.

"…I'd say he handled that pretty well," Link said.

"You realize this means we have all of the heirs now, right? All we have to do is get that song book Navi told us about," Tetra said. Link nodded and sighed.

"So much for getting a bearing; Navi never told us where to find it," he replied. Suddenly they heard a rumbling noise: it was Link's stomach.

"Hungry, mate?" Tetra smirked. "I'll have Niko--." She cut off. "…Oh…"

* * *

Selphie: So, some of you guessed it. Yes, Niko is the Ikanan prince. Woohoo! Y'know, I thought about having him faint as a throwback to when Selphie found out she'd traveled through time... um... but I guess that's in the new version of that chapter, the one I haven't uploaded yet. I'll finish that soon, I promise, and then this will make sense! Um... anyway... so, it appears that the villains have resurrected their master, and anyone who's ever played a Zelda game should know who it is. For those of you who haven't, however, I will not spoil for now. But there was a lot of foreshadowing in the part in the CCC. You'll look back on this later and think, "By Nayru! It all fits together now!" Curt's native Zoran, by the way, is Italian in our world. Not very elaborate. Then, we have Forsaken Fortress. I'm going to elaborate on Mila and Maggie's friendship in a side story/stand alone, which I already have planned. I think it will be very sweet.

Darunia: And, by the way Mila and Maggie belong to Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Selphie: Last (first chronologically, I know) is Death Mountain. Sig's growing up, eh? Yay, self-esteem! Nejirons, for those who don't know, are the freaks that attack when you cross through that path in Ikana to get to the river in Majora's Mask. ...Yeah. Anyway... I dunno why I don't have much to say this chapter, but I don't. I do want to let you guys know that I've uploaded the new prologue, and you guys should totally read it. It's better now. Also, I entered a contest on deviantArt. We had to draw some of our favorite characters from different fandoms, only they had to be wielding keyblades from the Kingdom Hearts series. I drew Niko, so you guys should go take a look. It's adorable! Also, I updated the sprites there, so take a look at that, too. I do have a job now, so while I will be busy during the days, I'll attempt to use my evenings for writing. Oh, also, in addition to having moved home from college, my family moved to a new house, so, good times. Next chapter or the spin-off soon I hope. I start work in the morning. Hasta for now, folks. R&R and KIT&KIR.


	30. Chapter 29

Selphie: Woohoo! It didn't take me forever and a year to update!

Din: It's a miracle!

Nayru: Christ the Savior has intervened in the goddess' favor!

Farore: Um, why would he do that?

Tingle: And on less theoretical topics of discussion...

Selphie: I actually wanted to have this uploaded on Sunday as my birthday present to you guys (my birthday, your present. Yay 19!), but my sister wasn't feeling well, and I wanted to keep her company. So I watched Final Destination 3 and Die Hard instead. My job hasn't interfered _too_ much with writing. In fact, because it's such a boring and mindless job (lots of filing and the like) I have lots of time to plot during the day so that I can write at night. So, yay for everyone involved. Anyway, on with the next chap. It's a fun one, I think.

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Gremlin, Daena, Saeda, Fiyero, Sig, Lobster, and Biggoron, as well as most of those other cool Goron peeps.

Selphie: More characters appearing this chapter, by the way, but I don't wanna spoil it, so I'll just say, "Read on!"

* * *

Chapter 28

_The captain's expression made it clear that she was not there on a pleasure trip. The men behind her knew this and so didn't dare to lose pace as she prowled up the beach to the little house. The village appeared still to be asleep in the morning fog. They'd docked there the night before and waited for early morning in order to conduct their business unseen and uninterrupted._

_The men knew not why they had come, and had they asked, and had their captain deigned to give an answer, she wouldn't know what to tell them. The letter she'd received had been very vague, and she didn't know why she was responding to it at all, let alone in person._

"I know you do not like me, but Vilo told me to contact you if ever I had a problem. I need your help. Please come as soon as possible."

_The captain hated vagueness, and more than that she hated the person who wrote the letter, the person who had taken her first mate years ago. Vilo had been a great pirate, true and loyal until the day he left. It was being away from the sea that killed him, she knew, even though the sender of the letter insisted that he'd been long sick._

_There was a boy bouncing a ball in the front yard. At the site of the woman and her crew, he dropped the ball and quickly ran inside. '_Craven…_' she thought to herself, opening the gate and strolling up the walk to the front door. Finding the boy had locked the door, she ordered one of her men over. "Senza. Open the door." A young man stepped forward, smirking, and stood next to the door. Then he thrust out his hip, hitting the door and knocking it in. "Thank you, Senza." The captain stepped right past him to where the boy was standing in the middle of the room. "Someone in this house wrote me a letter. You look too young to write, so tell me who did." Shaking, the little boy lifted a hand and pointed toward a door behind him. "Go play outside. If you run to your neighbors, everyone on the island is doomed. Understand?" The boy nodded and ran for the door. The captain then strode to the door, her men in tow, and entered without knocking._

_A sick woman reclined on her pillows. "You came. Vilo said you would," the sick woman said._

"_Vilo assumed I would come for his sake. I come merely out of curiosity. Your letter left out any form of useful information," the captain stated bluntly. "Now tell me why I'm here. I don't have all day."_

"_Listen, I know you blame me for Vilo's death, but I loved him. I still love him, and I'm sorry that meant he had to--."_

"_I did not come for you to waste my time with pointless apologies, and if that is all the emergency you had, then I will take my leave," the captain said._

"_Wait!" the sick woman pleaded, sitting up suddenly and falling into a fit of coughing. She reached for the handkerchief on her nightstand to catch the blood in her cough. The captain was unmoved. "I'm dying. There's nothing to stop it. The doctor gave me a few months at best and overnight at worst."_

"_Tragic," the captain rolled her eyes unsympathetically. "I fail to see what that has to do with me."_

"_You saw the little boy, right?" the dying woman asked._

"_Yes, yes, he's your son by Vilo. Big shocker that was," the captain waved her hand dismissively._

"_You know what will become of him when I die, don't you?" the dying woman asked._

"_No, not really, but that's usually the case with orphans, isn't it? No one knows what will happen to them," the captain replied._

_The dying woman nodded, "It's true. He would have no family to go to, no distant relative to be mentioned in a will… Vilo had no family but within your crew."_

"_If you propose to leave the boy to Miro, you'll be sorry to find he's not as eager to abandon ship as Vilo," the captain said, looking back to Miro, who shook his head apologetically._

"_I did not mean blood relative," the dying woman responded. "He loved you all as brothers," she implored to the men behind their captain._

"_You will address me, not my men," the captain ordered, stepping forward._

_The dying woman looked away, embarrassed. "Yes, ma'am."_

"_Ha. How pathetic are you? You're not one of my pirates. You could just as easily have ignored my order, but no. You are too cowardly to stand up for yourself, and too sick for that matter."_

"_Please, you must know why I asked you here," the dying woman whispered, another series of coughs leaping to her throat._

"_Oh, I know now, and the answer is no. I will not take your son aboard my ship. He obviously takes more after you than his father, and I doubt that either of you would be any use on a boat of any size," the captain rejoined. "Now that you have your answer, I shall remove myself from your presence."_

"_He has nowhere else to go!" the dying woman entreated._

"_Perhaps you should have thought of that before bringing him into this world," the captain replied, folding her arms across her chest._

"_Please, you must!"_

"_I must do nothing, especially not for you, and do not attempt to order _me_ about. I am not as pathetic as you," the captain retorted. "Come, boys." She turned to the door and started to leave._

"_Femke, please!"_

_The captain's icy glare became like a glacier as she whirled around to face the dying woman. "How dare you?" she charged. "I am a captain, and those are my men,' she said, pointing to her pirates, "And I will not have you condescend to me in their presence." She turned on her heel and strode toward the door, and her pirates would have been worse than fools if they'd not followed her._

"_It is what Vilo would want!" the dying woman pleaded._

_The captain wrenched the door open. "_Out!_" she ordered her pirates. They immediately filed out ahead of her. As soon as Lem was out, she slammed the door shut. It took the dying woman a moment to realize the captain had not exited. "Do not speak to me of what Vilo wanted," she said in a malicious whisper. "The last time I did what Vilo wanted, he abandoned his family. And what did he get out of it? What did any of us get out of it? A little missus who's pretty, to be sure, but delicate, and useless, not to mention half-dead. And let's not forget her little son, that weak, wimpling of a boy, who she's coddled into a useless little twit. What good are they to me? None at all."_

"_Please. I know you hate me for taking Vilo from you, but he always spoke of how kind you were beneath your harshness," the dying woman told her._

"_Harsh, am I?" the captain rejoined, smirking down at the dying woman. "I'm surprised you know the meaning of such a word."_

"_Perhaps I am meek, and perhaps I have not raised my son to be a pirate, but he is more like his father than you know," the dying woman said._

"_Oho! Like his father, you say. That is rich. I doubt there is a single ounce of Vilo in that child," the captain retorted. "I should be surprised if he could even swim."_

_The dying woman was silent for a moment. "…I… I don't know…"_

"_You don't know if the boy can swim?" the captain posed. "And I didn't think you could fail him any more utterly." She turned once more to leave and this time didn't stop at the door even as the dying woman implored her to reconsider. "Come, boys," she ordered, striding right to the front door._

"_Yes, ma'am!" they followed. As they crossed the yard, the boy ceased bouncing his ball again and watched them with wide, frightened eyes. The captain glanced down and met his stare. As she reached the gate, she paused and looked back at the bedroom window. The dying woman was watching them go. The captain scoffed and turned away again. Suddenly she smirked and turned back again. "Boy, come here," she commanded, and the boy started but approached her anyway._

_She smiled at him saccharinely. The next moment she had him by the back of the shirt and was carrying him toward the docks._

"_C-captain! What are you doing?" (Lem) asked._

"_I'm doing that woman a favor," the captain replied, and she threw the boy into the deep water. The pirates all gasped as the boy hit the water and disappeared for a moment, only to reappear, thrashing at the surface._

"_You're going to let him drown?" (Lem) asked incredulously._

"_A pirate who can't swim is useless. Obviously, I could not allow him on my ship if he couldn't float. If he can swim, he comes with us. If not, then at least he won't be an orphan when that woman dies." As the pirates stared in shock, the captain strolled over to one of the piles that supported the pier and made herself comfortable on it. "He has ten minutes. If he's not out of the water by then, we leave without him. And don't any of you think of going in there after him. You do and you'll get all the help of an iron flotation device. Sor, time him."_

_Sor nodded obediently and kept time by his watch. At that point, all the pirates could do was watch in uneasy anticipation of the boy's fate. One moment it appeared he would make it, and the next he would sink again. With about three minutes left, he was still in the water. The captain looked unperturbed and easy of conscience even as the boy took a big gulp of air and disappeared once more. Two minutes passed and he still didn't resurface._

"_Time," Sor announced grimly. The captain stood and stretched._

"_What a shame," she stated remorselessly. "Well, that's that. Let's go, men. The sea's calling," she declared._

Gasp! Huff, puff, huff, puff. _They all looked back to the beach and saw, to their great surprise (and some relief) the little boy, sprawled on the sand but obviously breathing. "Hmph," the captain sniffed. "Get on the ship," she ordered the men, and they continued out to the ship. She, however, returned to the shore and stood over the boy. "You have five seconds to stand up." The boy looked up at her hardened gaze and quickly got to his feet, clearly worn out. Thus, he had no strength with which to fight when she took him by the collar and carried him back out to the ship. He didn't even have the breath to cry out for his mother, who he didn't know had watched the whole thing from her window._

_When the captain deposited the boy on the deck of the ship, he made a run for the railing. "Take him below decks," she ordered Gonzo._

"_Shouldn't we, y'know, ask his mom first?" Gonzo asked._

"_No." Gonzo waited for an explanation but received none and so took the boy below. As he opened the door to come in, a smaller body rushed out passed him and straight for the captain._

"_Mommy!" the little girl squealed._

"_Hello, sweetheart," the captain smiled, lifting the girl into her arms._

"_Gonzo was carrying a little boy. Will I get to play with him, mommy?" the little girl asked._

"_No, sweetheart, that little boy doesn't get to play. He's part of my crew now."_

"_Like me?"_

"_Oh, no. He's nowhere near as important as you. You'll be captain one day, but he'll still be a little swabbie. He'll have to work very hard." The captain turned her attention from the little girl and addressed the rest of her men. "I want to make it clear right now that the boy will not be coddled and will not be given special treatment because of who his father is. I don't take on dead weight around here. He'll have to do the same work as all of you. He is not to be treated as Vilo's pride and joy but as a pathetic woman's brat." She placed the little girl on the floor. "I have work to do. Can you take care of the men?" she asked the girl._

"_Aye-aye, captain," the girl saluted and turned to face the pirates. "Alright, men. To your stations." Every pirate sprang to action. As the girl issued commands and the pirates obeyed, the captain slipped below decks to her cabin. She poured herself a glass of rum and sat at her desk, poring over her sea charts, searching for treasure. She smiled, sighed, and leaned back comfortably in her chair. "A pirate's life for me."_

* * *

Niko sat atop the starboard railing at the ship's stern, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. As much as he disliked being treated like dirt, Niko did like being able to retreat below decks if he wanted to be alone or think. He'd pretty much lost that space once they started taking in all of these passengers. Sitting out in the open like he was now, Niko felt like all his thoughts were exposed, and he wasn't sure how the crew would react to his thoughts. 

Below decks, Tetra stretched back on her bed, lost in thought. It really killed her, the way they'd treated Niko all those years. For no real reason she'd always just assumed he was less than her, like it was the natural order of things. Obviously she would change her way of thinking now, but she couldn't really take back the years of neglect they'd served him. She hadn't even considered how to tell her men.

"Oy, Niko! We're getting hungry. Make with some lunch, why don'tcha?" Senza called from the main deck.

"Not right now, Senza. I've got a lot on my mind," Niko replied vaguely.

"Excuse me? Your job ain't to think; it's to keep the ship clean and our bellies full!" Senza exclaimed.

"Pfft. Yeah, right. My job is to lead the Ikanans," Niko rolled his eyes, ignoring Senza.

"You're trying my nerves, Niko," Senza retorted, irritated as he climbed the steps. "Get down there and make some lunch."

"I'll do it when I good and feel like it!" Niko rejoined.

Senza grabbed Niko by the back of the shirt. "Do I need to remind you of your place?" he asked. "Captain told us we could if you ever forgot."

"Let go of me! I'll make your stupid food!" Niko thrashed.

"You're the bottom, Niko. You don't give orders," Senza replied, dodging as Niko threw a fist at him. "Oops," he smirked, letting go of the smaller pirate. Niko yelped as he went down and hit the water. "Grab a tuna or something while you're in there! Hahaha!"

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Tetra demanded, appearing behind him.

"Wha--? I was sending Niko for a swim, just like the old captain told us to d--," Senza started.

"Do you see the old captain anywhere around here? Go get him!" Tetra ordered.

"But, Miss--?"

"Get in there!" For the large size disparity between them, it was amazing the ease with which Tetra shoved Senza over the railing of her ship. She glanced down at the main deck to see Nudge and Gonzo staring in confusion.

"And what are you looking at?" she queried.

"Er… well, Miss, it's just that we ain't never seen you defend Niko before. You always let us order down to him, since he's the lowest pirate and all," Gonzo replied.

"_Was_ the lowest pirate. Now you treat him the same way you treat all of the princes and princesses on this boat," she ordered. It was about this time that Senza was carrying Niko back onto the boat.

"But… why?" Nudge asked.

"Because he _is_ a prince, you idiot!" Tetra responded.

"WHAT?!?" all the pirates exclaimed, Senza dropping Niko, who exclaimed an "Ow!"

"Help him up, you lummox!" Tetra commanded. Senza stood Niko to his feet. "And apologize! What are you? An animal?"

"I'm… sorry?" Senza apologized awkwardly.

"Um… it's okay," Niko replied.

"You hungry, Niko?" Tetra asked.

"Uh, a little, I guess…" he answered.

"You three, go make lunch," she instructed to the three larger pirates.

"Aye?" the three glanced between themselves uncertainly.

"…GO!"

"Aye!" they flinched and dashed for the door and below deck.

"You alright, there, Niko?" Tetra asked, approaching the wet Ikanan.

"Yeah, nothing I haven't lived through before," he replied.

"Right. Why don't you go get changed and join us in my cabin?" she suggested.

Niko nodded thoughtfully. "…Is that an order?"

"More of a friendly suggestion. I'm not looking to start any wars," Tetra smirked, opening the door.

"Well, alright… but only because I want to," he replied, returning the smile as he led the way inside.

* * *

It occurred to Navi that their excursion into Death Mountain had been, for the most part, uneventful. In her experience, expeditions to the bowls of caves, temples, and giant fish (the last one quite unfortunately quite literally) were more dangerous. There were ambushes, falling ceilings, puzzles to be solved, terrifying enemies that would sooner tear off her wings and use her as a nightlight than sit and make fun of her traveling companion. So far, the most danger they had faced was the danger of overheating in a room intended for a heat-resistant rock person. The fairy had followed the Hero of Time, for Farore's sake! She wasn't about to complain about the relative ease with which they were navigating the mountain, especially with the current group of rookies. She'd just expected a bit… _more_. 

She barely felt the need to point out that the narrow pathway against the wall was much too sloped for Komali or Gremlin to walk or that such a path would be traversed most safely with a Goron roll. Nor did she have the urge to shout "Hey!" and point out the large switch in the wall at the other side or that the switch could only be pushed in by something strong and durable, like Sig's fist. And as a column rose out of the lava below them, it seemed suddenly clear to her that Gremlin and Komali would find it overwhelmingly obvious to use the column as a stepping stone to jump to the opposite outcropping where Sig now stood, facing a large door with elaborate chains and locks.

"We'll need a big key to open that door," she sighed instead of declared as Komali flew across the last gap. "Go ahead and unlock it so that we can save Valoo."

"You mean Volvagia," Sig corrected.

"Same thing," Komali shrugged, searching his person for the key in question. His expression changed to confusion when he didn't find it. "Did one of you guys keep it?" he asked.

"Where?" Sig replied, indicating the lack of places for them to hide such a key.

"…Did we get a big key?" Komali asked.

"I… guess not," Sig replied.

"Shoulds Gremlin comes cross?" Gremlin asked from the column, not having finished the short journey.

"Not until we figure out whether we need to double back," Sig replied as Komali pulled out the map, standing next to Sig and opening it.

Komali looked up at Sig. "Jeez, I didn't realize how much taller than me you were," he commented.

"I'm a Goron," Sig shrugged. They fell to discussing the rooms on the map and which ones they'd missed, no they'd been in that room, were they sure, of course that's where they did this and that.

"This take long times," Gremlin sighed, plopping down on the column where he stood. He felt a tremor in the column as it happened. "Why column shake? Gremlin not heavies!" he exclaimed indignantly. He bounced on it a few times, causing it to shake each time. "See? Not heavies," he told the column. The column seemed to disagree. Gremlin felt his stomach drop as the column disappeared from beneath him, retracting down into the lava. "Helps!!!"

Komali and Sig looked up just in time to see Gremlin disappear. "Oh, jeez!" Komali exclaimed, dropping the map and running to the edge, diving down to fly Gremlin back up. He'd assumed the column would stop where it had started before-- a few feet above the lava--, and, if he couldn't fly them up they'd use the leaf. He'd assumed wrong, however, as they both discovered when the column fell below the lava into a tunnel down into the basement again. Komali wasn't about to try diving that and instead pulled up and dropped down feet first into the hole, landing next to Gremlin.

"You okay?" he asked, finding Gremlin on his backside.

"Is landed on tail second time in two dayses," Gremlin groaned, rubbing his sore extremity.

"Sorry, I tried to get you sooner," Komali said. "Let's get out of here."

"Wait! Lookses!" Gremlin pointed, and Komali realized for the first time that the tunnel dropped them in a niche off of a larger, rounder room with sloped walls. At the far end of the room, in a caged off niche next to a wall switch, was a large, ornate chest. "Is same as chest Gremlin is finds big key in befores, in ghost-y place."

"Hah. That's awesome. Perhaps gravity is not a Rito's worst enemy after all," Komali laughed, taking a step toward the room. His path was suddenly cut off, however, as bars suddenly shot up out of the floor and the wall, caging them in the niche. "…Okay, gravity definitely hates me." They both looked up and started shouting, "SIG!!!"

Sig and Navi, meanwhile, were still way up near the big door. "I only see one chest on this map, and it's in the only room that we haven't been in, and it's in the basement, and I don't see any way to get into it," Sig said.

"It doesn't have any doors, so it would have to be entered from above or below. There is no level lower than that basement, so it has to be from above, somewhere in this crater, by the looks of it," Navi added.

"Kinda looks like it's right below us, actually," Sig replied. He had a thought and looked over the edge of their platform. "Where'd that column go?"

"Hey! There's a hole down there! I bet Komali and Gremlin found that room!" Navi exclaimed.

"And the big key! We'll be able to save Volvagia in no time!" Sig declared optimistically. "Do you think we should just wait for them?"

"Yeah, I'm sure they can handle it. It's not like we've encountered anything too harrowing in here," Navi replied.

"Right," Sig agreed. So, he sat down and waited for his friends.

"I don't think he can hear us," Komali declared finally, his voice getting hoarse from shouting.

"What we does?" Gremlin asked. "Gremlin not wants stay in cage whole lifes."

"Don't sweat," Komali told him. "I'm sure Sig will realize something's wrong soon and he'll come down and find us."

"Soons?" Gremlin repeated anxiously, wringing two hands.

"Yeah, sure. Sig won't leave us hanging for too long," Komali assured him.

Gremlin nodded. "…It soons yet?" he asked.

"Your internal clock is more messed up than I thought," Komali shook his head. Some time had passed when he shook his head again. "Something must be wrong. He has to have realized what's happened to us by now."

"Maybe is abandoned us," Gremlin suggested, fidgeting with his tail nervously.

"Of course not. Sig's wouldn't do that. For one thing, Navi wouldn't let him," Komali replied.

"What ball do stop him?" Gremlin posed.

"…Okay, that's a good point, but a moot one since Sig didn't abandon us," Komali answered. Gremlin didn't look certain. "He'll come. I'd bet my wings on it."

Above them, Navi was wondering what was taking the two so long. "I know they're not Link, but for Farore's sake, they shouldn't be taking this long."

"Unless something's wrong," Sig stated worriedly. He looked over at Navi. "I'm going down there."

"And how will you get back up?" she queried.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out, and besides, what if that's their problem?" he replied. At that point he curled up and rolled over the edge, falling to the lava below, finding that it was actually quite shallow and that he could wade through it over to the hole, which was surrounded by a small barrier to keep the lava from spilling in. "Hey, guys?" Sig called down.

"Sig? Aw, man, are we glad to see you!" Komali called up, both he and Gremlin looking overcome with relief.

"Big key down here! We tries get, but gets trappeded in cage!" Gremlin added.

"Okay! I'll be right down!" Sig answered. He climbed into the hole and curled up, rolling off when he landed on the cage.

"How'd this happen?" Navi asked when she'd followed.

"Well, we saw that," Komali replied, pointing to the chest, "and started to go get it, but when I moved, these bars came out and trapped us."

"Gremlin not think able push button anywayses," Gremlin said.

"Hey! Maybe if you push that in, the bars will disappear from both cages," Navi suggested.

"Only one way to find out," Sig shrugged, crossing the room. When he reached the opposite wall, he pulled back his fist and punched the switch in the wall. They heard a sound like a click and rock and metal sliding against each other. "Yes!"

"Uh, no…" Sig turned around to see his friends were still trapped. He turned again to see the bars had not even disappeared from around the chest. "How we gets outs?" Gremlin asked.

"Nyah nyah nya-nyah nyah! That's up to me!" They all looked around and didn't see anyone.

"Who's there?" Sig called out.

"Your mom!" a childish voice rang out.

"My mom?" Sig repeated, looking to Navi. "Why don't you show yourself?"

"Why don't you show yourself?" the voice mimicked.

Sig quirked an eyebrow. "Are you taunting me?"

"Are you taunting me?"

Gremlin snickered but covered his mouth when Komali glanced at him.

"Look, just let my friends go. We have to get out of here and save the Gorons," Sig told the voice.

"Make me!"

Sig turned to Komali and Gremlin. "Guys?"

Gremlin cleared his throat. "Why not comes out, fights like mans?" he called out.

"I don't have to do anything I don't want to!"

"Cucco," Gremlin smirked.

"What'd you call me?"

"Buck-buck-buck-buck!" Gremlin clucked, strutting around the cage, flapping his elbows like cucco wings.

"Grr! You--!" The voice seemed to be losing its temper, but then calmed. "…Ha! Try doing that when you're smashed like a bug!"

The group looked at each other confusedly, but suddenly Komali and Gremlin started as they felt a tremor beneath their feet. Almost immediately after, they could feel the floor in their cage moving up, very slowly.

"You know what would be really great? If I wasn't killed in here," Komali said nervously.

"Haha! You're gonna get squi-ished, and there's nothing you can do-oo, cause you can't find me!" the voice sing-songed.

"That's it. Ollie ollie oxen free!" Sig shouted.

"Okay!" Sig was thrown from his feet as the ground beneath him moved. When he looked up, his attacker popped out of a hole in the ground. It was a mole-like creature. He looked rather young, with large goofy sunglasses perched atop his drill of a nose. It was with his nose that he drilled tunnels in the ground and avoided detection for so long. "Tag! You're it!" He dove back into the ground as Sig lunged for him. "Eat my dust! The dust of the Subterror!"

"Well, get him!" Navi charged Sig. "They're in trouble if you don't!"

Sig ran along the churned up dirt that showed the path of the Subterror. He could hear the little monster laughing at him as Sig curled up and performed a Goron pound where the tunnel ended. He felt Subterror recoil beneath him and cry out and then pop out of the ground ahead of him. Sig ran up and knocked the mole-monster around a bit before it dove back into the ground. Sig chased him down again and curled up over the tunnel's end. Subterror knew the pound was coming, though, and moved before Sig hit the ground. Sig tried again but still missed. Soon he couldn't even keep up with Subterror. After he attempted this a few more times, Navi cut in, "Listen! This isn't working. You need a way to attack him quickly and without detection!"

"He's underground. I can't really think of any other way to hit him. It's not like I can go in there after him," Sig returned.

"Y'know, whatever you do, could you make it quick?" Komali called out, the floor in his and Gremlin's cage having moved about a third of the way up.

"Um…" Sig thought aloud, trying to solve this conundrum. He could keep up with Subterror if he just rolled, he knew, but that wouldn't solve his attack problem. Then he remembered the lava-filled room where he rolled up that ramp. He'd managed to build up enough speed that his body was surrounded by flames. Perhaps if he could go that fast again, the heat would make it through the ground and harm the mole.

Sig figured that was worth a chance and curled up, rolling after the little monster again. As he rolled faster and faster, he caught up with Subterror again, but the flames did nothing. Sig growled at himself in frustration, pushing harder and faster, circling around to have another go. The flames were hotter this time, but Subterror still didn't react other than to laugh at him. "Is that the best you've got, grandpa?"

"Rrrr…!" Sig grit his teeth and pushed even harder, making one more pass. "Ah… ahh… argh!" he shouted as he started to feel a stabbing feeling in his back. Komali and Gremlin forgot about the rising floor and pressed against the bars to see better what was occurring. Suddenly, there was a burst of blue light around Sig and he shouted out in pain, continuing to roll over Subterror, who now screamed out in pain as well, crying for his mom, each time Sig rolled over him. Sig's companions, however, stared in wonder at the magic enveloping his body and the resulting spikes protruding from his back.

* * *

Selphie: Oh, gods! Sig finally pulled off the Goron Roll! Hooray!!! For those of you who haven't played Majora's Mask, what Sig just achieved is a huge burst of speed, spikes in his back, and a steady consumption of magic. It's about the toughest thing for a young Goron to do. So, yay Sig! I didn't really realize it until after I wrote it, but I like how the monsters they're facing in here are all kind of immature, and one of Sig's big "things" is growing up and proving himself. I didn't notice it, so I just wanted to point it out. And haha, Navi was getting bored. You gotta figure she gets used to all the action, and-- let's face it-- Death Mountain simply has not been as exciting as Dusk Caverns and Phantom Citadel were, not to mention the multitude of dungeons and temples she'd been through hundreds of years prior. Poor Gremlin and his tail. Aw!

Someone was thinking about when Niko first came onto the ship, and I'm not really sure if it was Niko or Tetra... or both. Niko's gonna get treated better from here on out though. And while I'm revising, I'm making his previous maltreatment more obvious. Haven't worked much on the revising lately though... Anyway, I enjoyed writing the day that Niko came onto the ship (which is what the first part of this chapter was, in case you're really that dense. :-P). It was fun writing it without mentioning anyone but the pirates' names. The captain's a stone cold bitch, though, huh? I kept writing that thinking, '_Sweet jeebus, do I have issues I need to work out? Is this my inner bitch? Who cares? It's interesting!_' Just for clarity: Vilothe sick woman's late husband and Niko's dad and the captain's former first mate; The captainTetra's mom, the woman in the painting in her cabin. At this time there are many more pirates on the ship than there are under Tetra's leadership: Sullie the lookout, Sor the first mate, Miro the cook (and Vilo's brother, Niko's uncle), Shannan the researcher, Lem the deck hand, and then all of the pirates that Tetra has. Some of them leave when The Captain dies, some fall in love and leave like Vilo did, some die (oh, man do some die). I basically have a whole backstory to this group, a story I would love to write if I find the time.

Tingle: By the way, the sick woman, Vilo, Sullie, Sor, Miro, Shannan, and Lem all belong to Selphie.

Selphie: Yeah, anyway... so that's about it. I hate my job so much. It's sooo boooring! But it's eight hours a day at a _good_ salary, so I don't complain too much. That's pretty much my whole summer right there. My dad is taking me, my sister, and my cousin camping and canoeing this weekend, so I'm psyched for that. Birthday was on Sunday, kudos. I started playing Wind Waker again because I realized it's been over a year since I've done so, and I really need to refamiliarize myself with the story and characters, since, y'know, I'm writing a story based on them. I designed some new characters for a later part of the story. They're way awesome, and I can't wait to write about them, even though it's going to take forever for me to reach them. I'll just say they rock and all that jazz, and that'll be the only hint I give you as to what they are and where they live. And that's all! Hasta for now, folks! R&R and KIT&KIR!


	31. Chapter 30

Selphie: I miss the days when summer was devoted to things I liked, like writing fanfiction and play video games.

Din: Yeah, don't we all.

Selphie: On the plus side, I finished my job last Friday, so I don't have to work during the day anymore.

Nayru: On the minus side?

Selphie: Why does there have to be a minus side?

Farore: There's always a minus side with your plus sides.

Selphie: ...Okay, so there is... in a way. I've finished my job, but that's because I go back to school in less than a week so that I can help with freshman orientation. So, while I'll try to write some this week (I'm still in the writing mood), mostly I'm going to be cleaning and packing and spending time with my family.

Goddesses: Fantastic...

Selphie: Anyway... get reading, folks. This chapter's a little dark ((cough)), so prepare your selves. And make sure you read the whole thing. I know my sister tried to stop reading at one point, but I made her keep reading because there are important things that occur after that point.

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Rosari (whose name we just realized was mysteriously absent from the last few ((cough!))13!((cough!)) disclaimers...), Gremlin, Daena, Saeda, Fiyero, Sig, Lobster, and Biggoron, as well as most of those other cool Goron peeps and the old pirate crew.

Selphie: Last important reminded, then I leave you: I've uploaded the revised Chapter 1, so I suggest you read it. It's _way_ better now, and I think you'll enjoy it. Okay, read on, folks!

* * *

Chapter 29

The first thing Rosari noticed as Gonzo, Senza, and Nudge trotted below decks was that they were all extremely sulky. The second thing she noticed was that they were also scratching their heads confusedly. The third thing she noticed was that they were making their way toward the stove.

Despite spending only a few short days onboard with the pirates, Rosari had already come to understand several things, not least of which being that Niko always-- _always_-- did the cooking. Also, the three largest crew members never-- _never_-- did any below deck work. So, it was with great curiosity that the Gerudo princess approached and inquired as to their doings.

"Are you guys playing musical chores tonight?" she cut into their argument about the uses of each of the pans and how the contents of the sacks and boxes were to be prepared.

"Niko doesn't have to do chores anymore," Nudge replied.

"Really?" Rosari was genuinely surprised. "I thought he ranked pretty low among you guys?"

"Well, now Miss Tetra knows he's the Ikanan prince, so now we have to treat him special-like," Senza sulked.

Rosari's eyebrows shot up her forehead. "Are you serious? Little Niko is a prince?" she asked.

"Yeah, well, he is. And now he won't have to do any work, and Miss Tetra'll probably give him his own room and a bigger cut of the treasure, and…" Senza griped on.

"I wouldn't've guessed it of him," Nudge reflected. "All that 'ancient ancestors' stuff he went on about."

"Well, I never figured he was the rat what Captain always made us treat him," Gonzo cut into their reveries. "Vilo being who he was around here. Always thought it was right funny the way Captain acted around him. She was pretty hard-nosed, but the way she bullied him, made us bully him. Zuko was an orphan, and she never said nothing when Sullie-- our old look-out," he clarified for Rosari, "--took him up the nest. I think it broke Miro's heart to have to neglect his nephew like that."

"You must feel pretty guilty," Rosari commented.

There was a loud clangor behind them as several pots and utensils crashed to the floor at Senza's feet. "Guilty nothin'! How're we supposed to eat?!"

Rosari rolled her eyes. "You boys are hopeless…" she sighed. "First rat screw, now cooking," she said, crossing to the small stock of kitchen ware and ingredients. "Pay attention. You're about to learn from a master!" Gonzo and Nudge glanced between each other uncertainly but gathered around for their first cooking lesson.

Some time later, Rosari was overseeing as Nudge rolled an improvised dough into bread balls and Gonzo stirred a large pot of stew. It was simmering pleasantly and had a smell that snapped in the nostrils. "Not bad," Rosari praised. "Not for a first timer anyway."

"No thanks to Senza," Gonzo replied, loud enough for his bearded crewmate to hear. Senza, who had spent the whole time sulking, harrumphed in response and returned to complaining quietly.

Rosari smirked, "You know the person who doesn't cook traditionally has to clean up afterwards."

"Captain'd probably make me do it anyway…" he muttered.

Turning back to Gonzo, Rosari suddenly became serious. "In fair trade, I think you ought to tell me a bit more about the old crew," she said.

"Ah, but it's bad luck to talk about former crew members," Gonzo wagged his finger.

"Maybe, but I know how to ruin that stew with one ingredient, and who do you think will take the blame?" she grinned in return. Gonzo grimaced. "Why don't we start with someone who's still around?"

"Like?"

"Hmm… Zuko. Why is he so quiet? It's muy horripilante."

Gonzo went very quiet. "Er… actually that has to do with our old look-out," Gonzo replied.

Rosari gave an innocuous glance at the stew, and Nudge cut in, "Oh, come off it, Gonzo. Superstitions, schmuperstitions!"

"Will you tell me, then, Nudge?" Rosari asked.

"Of course! It's the least I can do!" Nudge replied while Gonzo rolled his eyes at his friend. "So, Zuko came on board when he was about eight. Not sure why, but he took a liking to Sullie, our old look-out."

"Why? What was Sullie like?" Rosari asked, indicating to Nudge that it was time to add the bread balls.

"Sullie was… well, sullen. Think it had something to do with a lost love, never talked much about it. He didn't show it, but I guess he must've at least tolerated Zuko, taught him the basics of the nest," Nudge explained. "So, anyway, it's not too long after we pick up Niko. One morning we all wake up down here, only Zuko's not in his sleeping bag. We head up to the deck, and there's Sullie, lying on the deck, eyes rolled back, hand clutching his heart." Rosari gave a gasp. "We figure he must've had a heart attack in the middle of the night and fallen out of the nest.

"So, that still doesn't answer where Zuko is, yeah? Well, Captain says to Lem, one of our old hands, 'Get up there, and keep look-out for a while,' figuring we'll need a new look-out. Well, Lem gets up there, but he can't keep look-out, cause little Zuko's standing there, clutching the telescope to his eye for dear life. Must've been awake all night, he looked so awful, and he smelled awful, too, right, Gonzo?" Gonzo grunted in response, focusing on stirring the bread balls into the stew. "Captain made Gonzo bring Zuko up some clean clothes then and there.

"Now, Captain never headed up the crow's nest, but as soon as Lem told her what Zuko was doing, she scaled that ladder quick as lightning. It's the only time Zuko told anyone what happened; he won't repeat it. Apparently, that night, he went up on deck in the middle of the night to use the ocean. All a sudden he hears this noise like a grunt and a thump. He looks around a bit scared and decides he wants to head back into the cabin. Just as he's crossing the deck, though, old Sullie falls over the nest's railing and lands on the deck. Must've scared the piss right out of the kid; he was still soaking in it next morning. I think he was too paralyzed even to run down and get us.

"But Sullie lies there, clutching his heart," Nudge continued, oblivious to Rosari's shocked reaction, "Reaching at Zuko. 'Boy,' he gargles, 'Boy, come o'er 'ere.' And Zuko walks over, and Sullie grabs him, pulls him down right next to his face and, uh, what'd he say exactly, Gonzo? You heard Zuko tell it."

Gonzo didn't look up from the stew, and his knuckles were white around the spoon. "'Take de nest… Watch de sea,'" he muttered.

"That's right. He says that, and he dies, then and there, still holding onto Zuko's shirt collar. Dunno how he got away and up that ladder. Sullie was right strong even without a death clinch, but Zuko must've been half out of his wits at that point. But he climbed up there, and hasn't abandoned his post yet."

Rosari stared at the stew. "Harena querida," she whispered. Gonzo glanced over at her.

"This stew about ready, you think?" he asked.

"Ah, sí, es listo; it's ready…"

"Nudge, why don't you go let everyone know," Gonzo suggested.

"All right, then. You'll have to give us a few more lessons, Rosari. We've got a bunch more stories," Nudge responded, grinning widely. He strode off toward Tetra's cabin thinking he'd just scored major points with their princess friend.

Rosari and Gonzo were quiet for a few more moments. "Not all of our stories end like that. Don't worry."

She nodded. "…So, he hasn't been the same since?"

Gonzo shook his head slowly. "Still watches the sea like his life depended on it, walks funny, talks funny-- if he talks at all."

"…How old was he?"

"Ten." Rosari immediately thought of Luís back in Port of Sun, trying to imagine him as anything other than the carefree, adventurous little boy that she loved. "I still remember seeing him for the first time at the top of that nest. Exhausted, terrified, soiled… Nudge can't tell it; he wasn't there. It wasn't just pitiful; it was frightening. Probably the scariest thing I've ever seen…"

"…Have you been the same since?" she asked.

"Me?" he answered, sliding his hands into some potholders and lifting the stew off the stove. "Yeah, I got over it. The rest of us, we all moved on. But you always remember, yeah?"

"Yeah…" They'd made it to the table, and the rest of the group was now flooding the room in pursuit of food, relatively jolly considering their situation. But Rosari now knew that they weren't always such a comic device in the middle of this grand adventure.

* * *

Gremlin was a fantastic contortionist. He'd had to be in order to navigate the smaller tunnels and the stalactite ceilings. He was now finding that the skill had uses outside of his dark home, however. One such use was contorting himself within his small shared cage with Komali. The space from floor to ceiling had been contracted to less than a foot and a half and simply lying down or crouching was no longer an option, especially as the floor continued to rise beneath them.

The Subterror was lying on the floor, clearly beaten by Sig. "You… big… butthead!" it accused before its body disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sig sighed in relief, "I did it…" Then realization hit him with full force and his eyes widened. "I _did_ do it. I mastered the Goron roll! Oh, man! Wait till everyone back home sees! Guys!" He ran over to his friends. "Guys, did you see that? I had spikes coming out of my back! How cool is that?!"

"Incredible," Komali agreed.

"Amazings," Gremlin added.

"Definitely awesome," Komali declared. "Know what'd be cooler though?"

"Hmm?" Sig asked.

"If this floor had stopped moving!" Sig balked as he realized that Gremlin and Komali were still, indeed, trapped in their cage, which had not ceased in its continuous shrinking. It was still growing smaller with each passing second.

"Gremlin not understands!" the creature interjected. "In Caverns, traps stop when creature leave room! Why not heres?!"

"Sig, go try the switch again!" Navi cried. Sig didn't need to be told twice: he bolted for the other side of the room and punched the switch once more. When nothing happened, he hit it again and again, pummeling it, trying to make it do something. "Nothing's happening!"

"Is there something else in here? Something else you have to beat?" Komali called, he and Gremlin pressing against the roof of the cage, trying to slow the trap.

"Cuccos! Thing is cuccos if not comes outs!" Gremlin shouted, trying to entice another Subterror from the floor.

"I don't think there's anything here!" Sig exclaimed.

"Run around quickly! See if there's anything we missed!" Navi squeaked in panic. Sig dashed about the room, inspecting every crack in the wall, shouting encouragement back to the trapped boys.

"Ah…! Sig…!" Komali released a gasp of pain as he and Gremlin met the top of the cage, sucking in their stomachs, pressing their selves against the floor, trying to put distance between them and certain doom. Contorted together as they were, Komali and Gremlin were being squashed into each other. "Sig…!"

"Hold on, guys! Just hold on! We'll get you out of there!" Sig called.

"Sig…" Komali gasped out. First his whole body was on fire, then it was numb. His skeleton was cracking under the pressure, nothing within him could expand or contract, leaving him devoid of body function. Beside him, Gremlin was in pure agony as his tail was caught between someone's body and the cage.

"Sig!" Navi sounded worried.

"Don't worry! You'll be okay!" Sig yelled frantically, desperately, just short of hopelessly.

Komali mouthed Sig's name silently, unable to inhale, exhale, or complete any function of the lungs. He could feel the life draining from him and could sense that Gremlin, too, was fading fast. All the while, Sig and Navi frantically searched the room for a way to stop the booby trap. And suddenly, their search became futile.

_Crack…!_ Sig turned around to see that the floor had ceased its ascent beneath his friends. "How did that--?"

"No!" Navi cried, flying into the cage to confirm what she was afraid to be true. Sig rushed over, terrified.

"What's the matter?! What's--?" It was then he realized that neither of his companions was so much as twitching. "…Navi… they're not…?"

The ball of light perched itself on the edge of the raised floor, and even though he couldn't see her miniature tears, Sig could hear her sniffling, and that was all the confirmation he needed. "NO!!!" he shouted. "NO, THEY CAN'T BE! THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!" Sig began to curl up on the floor by the cage, pressing his fists to his temples and continuing to shout out the injustice that had just occurred.

"I don't understand," Navi whimpered to herself. "You guys should have been safe. They needed you alive…"

* * *

It was some time before the dark man in the chair showed any signs of movement, and unfortunately it was not toward any door. Mila knew they stood no chance of getting out through the large double doors as long as the man was sitting there; he'd spot them for sure, and nothing could be worse for them at that moment. Stealth was their best protection from him because stealth would be the thing the man would wish to maintain. The moment he found out someone knew his whereabouts would be the moment that person fell into greatest danger. The dark man would not want anyone revealing his return, especially not to the Hero who'd defeated him. It was to that Hero that both girls had every intention of relating what they'd seen.

However, as it became more and more evident that the villain had no interest in moving from his comfortable location, they realized they'd need to find another way out of the fortress. Their first priority, however, had to be escape from that room. Obviously, if they'd had their choice, they would have taken the straight shot right back to the boat, but seeing as that was out of the question, only two options remained: the eastern door to their left would lead them, eventually, to the jail, a dead end; the hallway to their right, however, would lead to an old enclosed harbor and continue around the fortress. Since the eastern door was still in clear view of the man's chair, the only viable option was the hallway.

Mila looked Maggie straight in the eye and mouthed instructions, not daring to make so much as a whisper. "_Walk this way as quietly as you can and keep an eye on him._" Maggie nodded tremulously and followed Maggie's lead as they snuck toward the hallway under cover of the barrel. They moved a few feet and stopped again, glancing at the man. Then they moved another few feet, stopped again, glancing at the man. They did this until they were about halfway down the hallway and couldn't see the man or his chair anymore. At that point they moved straight for the door without stopping.

Upon reaching the end, the two girls conferred silently, knowing that the opening and closing of the door could give them away and that they would have to abandon the cover of their barrel in order to operate it. They couldn't just sit there, however, and so they came to a silent agreement. Mila held up three fingers and counted down on them. When her hand became a fist, they quickly removed the barrel, opened the door, and dashed through. As it slammed shut, Mila leaned her ear against it, listening hard for movement. She strained her ear for sounds, any sounds, but after a few minutes silence, she relaxed, determining that he hadn't heard.

"We need to find a way out of here without being seen, back to the harbor and my boat," Mila whispered. Maggie nodded as Mila listened at the door again. "We'll have to stay quiet though. This place is dead silent. I wouldn't trust anything above a whisper not to carry in here."

"Let's find Mo," Maggie replied. "He'll know how to get us out of here."

"Right," Mila agreed. She led the way around the room, an indoor harbor with a small ship hanging above the water. She was glad to see that Mo had finally taken care of the rat and keese problem: their squeaking probably would not have helped their stealth objective at all. Following another hallway around, they entered another door to find their selves in the large and open bunk room. To their left was a large double door like the one they'd first entered, and staring through a crack in the door was none other than--

"Mo!"

"Shhh!!!" Mila shushed as Maggie ran over to the moblin and threw her arms around his neck. He caught her in the embrace and set her down again.

"Mo saw the boat of Mila and knew Maggie was here, but Mo saw the evil man come to life and Mo wished Maggie had stayed away," Mo told his beloved.

"Trust me, if we'd known he'd be here, this is the last place we'd ever come," Mila assured him, gazing around nervously, praying that they hadn't been found out.

"How did it happen? I thought he was gone for good," Maggie said, clinging to her boyfriend.

"Mo heard the evil man say the sword was the seal of him. Mo thinks someone took the sword out from him," Mo explained.

"Yeah, but who would be stupid enough to do that?" Mila hissed. "I realize that everybody didn't know about him, but who would think it a good idea to pull a sword out of such an evil-looking thing anyway? Not to mention, I thought he was at the bottom of the ocean."

"Someone thought it was a good idea, but that is not important," Mo replied. "Right now, Mila and Maggie need to get out of the Forsaken Fortress. Right now, Mila and Maggie need to get as far away from the evil man as possible."

"Our thoughts exactly, but we don't know how to do it without being seen," Mila replied.

"Mo can see the boat of Mila from here, but Mo can also see the evil man in the door. Mila, Maggie, and Mo must take a different way to get to the boat of Mila," Mo said.

"How will we do that?" Maggie asked.

"Mila, Maggie, and Mo must go up first," Mo answered, pointing to the bunk beds and the ledge high over their heads. The two girls nodded and followed as Mo led them across the room. Mo stopped suddenly, however, and turned around, his pig-like ears perking up. Both girls stopped short, scared.

"What is it?" Maggie asked.

"Mo hears the evil man and… someone," Mo responded, crossing back to the door, the girls joining him as they listened at the door, hearing voices across the harbor.

"…perhaps you had decided to stay in your prison," the evil man said.

"_Forgive us, my liege. Our spell simply required vast amounts of magical energy. We were greatly weakened by it and needed to recuperate before contacting you again,_" came a man's voice, slick and fawning.

"_Now zat you are free from your séquestration, communication will be much easier between us,_" a woman's sophisticated but squeaky voice added.

"I must congratulate you. I would not have thought escape possible from that wretched prison, but the favor of the gods is still mine, I see," the evil man reflected.

"_A most excellent advantage to possess,_" the man's voice came.

"Indeed. Now, I do wish to know more of your own imprisonment," the evil man requested.

"_But of course,_" the woman said, and she detailed to him the crimes that she and her three comrades had committed, the circumstances of their captures, and the magic that had been used to trap them in their prison. "_For a sousand years we 'ave saved zee powers trapped wizzin zis chamber, and for a sousand years we 'ave waited to finally escape from zis dungeon._"

"Impressive… for mortals lacking the powers of the gods, you have done well as villains," the evil man stated. "Your espionage is most inspiring, Miss Dimitra, worthy talent I would be delighted to employ."

"_You honor me wiss your compliments, sir,_" the woman, Dimitra, replied. "_'Owever, it is your own achievements zat are to be extolled._"

"Such worthy assistants I could not hope to find elsewhere, apparently," the evil man mused. "Now, tell me, please, how to liberate such fine cohorts as your selves."

"_There is but one way to enter this kingdom beneath the waves, and it is a most difficult venture,_" the man took over, sounding a bit impatient. "_To open the way, one must first gather the heirs of each tribe of Hyrule and the kingdom of Ikana. Then, they must go to the island that guards the kingdom and play a tune known as the Bond of Brotherhood._" The evil man chuckled. "_Believe me, lord, we also found it laughable. However, it is the only way--._"

"Never mind," the evil man cut him off. "Continue."

"_If you please, my lord, once this song has been played, Ikana will be accessible, and you will be able to enter. The Castle Ikana is where our prison lies, though even we do not know the location of the entrance,_" the man continued. "_However, for someone of your great intellect, finding our prison should be no great feat._"

"You're brownnosing, Sakon," the evil man told him. "Flattery is good, but you must learn balance."

"_Of… of course, my lord,_" the man, Sakon answered.

"Now, how do I find these heirs?" the evil man asked.

"_We have taken care of that for you, liege,_" Sakon said. "_In a way, that is. You see, our original plan had been to collect and contain each heir for safe keeping, to make them easily accessible to yourself. Unfortunately, however, our plans were disrupted by--._"

He was interrupted by the evil man's laugh once more. "Don't tell me. A boy clad in the green of fields has stepped in to thwart your evil plans."

"_Indeed, the same boy who that the Sword used to imprison you,_" Sakon replied.

"Do not mistake the boy's power for the sword. I will admit that he had some small skill, which the sword improved. However, I did allow him to get the better of me," the evil man replied.

"_My liege, you sell yourself short. Surely a mere boy--,_" Sakon stated.

"I am no fool, Sakon. My defeat at the boy's hands was a fluke, to be sure, but it still comes as no small surprise that he has thwarted you so easily.

"_We know ziss, of course,_" Dimitra took over for the floundering Sakon. "_Sakon is simply caught in zee throes of idol-worship._"

"'Idol-worship,' you say? Excellent choice of words, Dimitra," the evil man chuckled.

"_Mon gratitude,_" Dimitra replied. "_And you need not concern yourself wiss zee heirs. Our Mace 'as 'ad a stroke of genius: our new plan is to allow zee homme to do all zee work collecting heirs, which we believe 'e 'as nearly completed. After zey 'ave opened zee way to Ikana, it will be only too easy for you to slip in after 'im and escort us from our prison._"

"I was under the impression that you and Sakon were the masterminds behind this venture," the evil man answered. "That is indeed a stroke of genius, Mace."

"_Thanks a lot!_" came one more voice, Mace presumably.

"As I understand, my only objective at this time is to reach the place where Ikana can be found, and wait for the boy and the heirs to arrive?" the evil man posed.

"_Zat is all._"

"An excellently wrought plan," the evil man declared. "I shall see it set into motion. I owe you a dept of gratitude for liberating me. Before I make for this island, however, I would ask one last thing."

"_What is it, sir?_"

"Why have you waited so long to engage this plot?"

Sakon chuckled. "_Until recently, lord, we did not have the means to affect the outside world; our sphere of influence only reached as far as our chamber because he had no link to the world, our bodies having been destroyed. It was only recently that a face from the past joined us here and gave us the ability to set our plan in motion. Unfortunately, it is also her involvement that alerted the boy to our plans, but I believe it to be an evenhanded tradeoff._

"I see. My curiosity abated, I shall now depart for your island and await their arrival--."

"Mo does not understand. Who are Sakon, Dimitra, Mace, and Curt?" Mo asked.

"I don't know, but if he's helping them, they can't be good," Mila replied.

"You heard what they said. He's going to sneak into that Ikana place and release them. They're using--!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Shh!" Mila shushed again. "I swear, Maggie, if you get us caught before we can get out of here…!"

"Mila and Maggie need to get out and get help!" Mo interjected. "Mila, Maggie, and Mo must move quickly to get out of the fortress. Let Mila, Maggie, and Mo go!" And they hurried off across the room once again.

* * *

Tears were streaming out of Sig's eyes, hot and steaming from the heat. '_It's my fault…_' he thought to himself. '_If I hadn't taken so long to come down, maybe they would've been okay… Maybe if I'd gone down first, I would have broken it… They'd still be…!_' He glared at the metal bars enclosing them, transferring the blame to them. Without thinking, he wound up his fist and, with a shout of pain, slammed an almighty blow into the cage. The metal shattered on impact, and the entire cage disintegrated before them. That gone, the column also retreated into the floor once more.

After staring in shock for a moment, Sig rounded on the room, shouting, "It was that easy?!" He stomped, kicked dirt, pounded the floor, trying to vent the anger, the pain and guilt tearing at him. "My friends could have lived if I'd attacked the cage?" Reaching the other cage, he reiterated the point, attacking it and making it disappear. He then kicked the big chest, ignoring the now open lid, and continued his assault. So distracted was he by punishing the room, that he failed to notice the extra balls of lights that had appeared.

Navi, who had been rubbing her eyes of tears, looked up just in time to see it. She'd completely forgotten about Komali's act of thievery. No longer confined by the constricting pressure of the trap, two fairies slipped out of the bottles Komali and Gremlin had been carrying and hovered over their bodies for a few moments. As if just remembering the reason for their escape, the fairies began a delicate dance around the two fallen heroes. "Sig… Sig!"

"What?" Sig responded angrily, turning about to face her. She didn't say anything, but Sig saw the two fairies just as they finished their dance and disappeared. He was still lost and angry until there were two matching jerks from the floor on the other side of the room. Sig's heart gave a leap and he rushed across the room. The two bodies gave a few more twitches until, suddenly, the Rito and the creature gave a simultaneous gasp, taking in as much air as they possibly could, worried they might be denied once more.

"They're alive!" Navi exclaimed, launching herself at the two as Sig scooped them both into a big Goron hug, terrified that it might not be true. Komali and Gremlin didn't have the strength to fight back, but by the furious pumping in their veins and the deep, desperate breaths they took, they were definitely revived. Sig couldn't believe it, and Navi was buzzing uncharacteristically about all their heads, relieved that the trauma had only been temporary. Sig didn't want to let go of his friends, and it was only when Navi pointed out that they might be getting crushed again that he released them from his embrace.

Both the formerly departed were shaking visibly. Both normally had dark skin, which made it all the more obvious how pale they appeared in their recent recovery. Gremlin turned away for a moment, reaching his hands up to his face, and gave a great sniff. Sig looked down at Komali, who would not meet his gaze. Without attempting to hide it, the Rito prince rubbed his eyes several times, though the tears wouldn't stop. Navi had floated over to Gremlin, trying to comfort him, but he and Komali were both silent for a long time. Sig wanted to say a lot of things but couldn't bring himself to do so until he was first sure that his friends were able to answer. It felt like forever until someone finally spoke again. When finally he found it in himself to speak, the first thing Komali said was a strained whisper: "Don't tell Medli…"

* * *

Selphie: Komali doesn't like dying. Some of you may be wondering why Komali and Gremlin were so affected by their deaths when Link usually just hops back to his feet and keeps fighting. Well, that's something I intend to have explained next chapter. But, yeah, who freaked out when Komali and Gremlin died? I know there are a few of you. Both my betas freaked, so don't pretend you didn't. Ironically, their deaths started out as a joke-- I was bored at work and thought it would be funny to draw Komali and Gremlin getting squished in their cage. It was meant to be funny looking, but it turned out kind of sad and scary instead, and that's when I thought it would be a good idea to actually make it happen.

And, so we meet Mo the moblin. I turned on the game and walked all over Forsaken Fortress to determine where exactly they were going and will be going as they make their escape (assuming they make it. I'm just full of surprises. Am I joking? You have to wait to find out! Muwahahahaha!). The souls finally have another discussion with their master, and we learn the full contents of Mace's big idea. Sakon's such a kiss-ass, but is that a good thing? It's always worked for me before, but it doesn't seem to be doing as well for him... We'll see what happens.

After Femke and Vilo, Sullie was the first of the old pirates that I devised, and that story with him and Zuko was the first part of the ship's backstory that I formed, as well. I would like to write that story, as well as Mila and Maggie's story, but I have trouble enough finding time to write this one! But yeah, Rosari should be careful what she asks, and Nudge needs to be a little more observant. And Senza's kinda bratty, huh? Dude needs to grow up.

Well, I suppose that's all. I don't expect next chapter to be all over the place like this one. I'm pretty sure I know almost exactly what will happen, in fact, so it should be up before too awful long. In other news, like I said before, I'm going back to school this weekend. Yay! I'm going home! Don't get me wrong; this new house is nice and great, but it's not home. That honor now goes to my school. Aside from work, this summer was pretty good. I made up for my complete lack of a vacation by going to plenty of movies: Spiderman 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Transformers, Live Free or Die Hard, and Hairspray. I liked Spidey3 and PotC3, hated HP&tOotP, added Transformers to my absolute favorite movies list, and thoroughly enjoyed Die Hard 4 and Hairspray. Has anyone else noticed how insanely hot Shia Labeouf has become? I have. ((drool)) In addition, I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and it is one of the best books I've ever read, _ever_. Oh, I also became the admin for the biggest Zelda group on Facebook, so exciting! I'm officially one of the biggest Zelda nerds on Facebook. Kudos to me! I've drawn and scanned a few Zelda-related pictures, which I will be coloring and uploading to deviantArt in the near future (hopefully). I remind you once again that I've completely revised the Prologue and Chapter 1, so you really oughta go read them.

All righty, that's all. R&R and KIT&KIR! Hasta for now!


	32. Chapter 31

Selphie: Holy crapzors, Batman!

Din: _Less_ than a week?

Nayru: That's amazing!

Farore: There must be a book somewhere that we need to drop on your head.

Selphie: _No_, the doctor said no more of that. Plus it's just a paperback... and it's not for a grade... Besides, I warned that this chapter would come quick, and the next one too, I hope.

Darunia: Let's not tempt the fates.

Tingle: Let's let them read so you can go back to training, instead!

Darunia: Good idea! Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Rosari, Gremlin, Daena, Saeda, Fiyero, Sig, Lobster, and Biggoron, as well as most of those other cool Goron peeps and the old pirate crew.

Selphie: Read on, folks!

* * *

Chapter 30

Both Sig and Navi had enough sense to not to ask Komali and Gremlin about the time that had passed before the fairies did their jobs. Though he'd managed to say a bit, Komali wasn't very interested in speaking yet. Gremlin hadn't spoken at all yet, but he and Komali kept looking at each other, conveying unknown sentiments, forgetting that they'd bickered all the way through the mountain.

"Is Link going through the same thing?" Sig asked Navi in a hushed voice.

"I wouldn't think so. I wouldn't have thought they would react this way," Navi replied, shaking back and forth slowly, pensively. "The few times the Hero of Time had to rely on fairies, he always got right back to his feet and kept going. I don't really understand why they're taking it so badly…"

"Well… wait, did you say he woke right back up?" Sig asked.

"Yes. He fell, the fairy revived him, and he was fine," Navi answered.

"He never had to wait to be wake up?"

"No…" Sig glanced over at his comrades, who he'd thought dead for several very long minutes. Navi followed his gaze and seemed to have the same thought as him. "…I see… they must have gotten a full taste of…" She didn't really know what it was that they had experienced. Whatever it was, though, had left the both of them deeply saddened. Gremlin had never actually stopped crying, and Komali was still seen succumbing to the occasional sniffle.

"I… I hate to sound insensitive, but we really need to stop Volvagia…" Navi whispered some time later. Sig turned about to look at her.

"Navi, I don't think they're in any condition to fight a dragon," Sig said.

"Maybe not, but it has to be done soon. We don't know what kind of havoc he's causing for your islands. Extendere Febelis may be pure bedlam by now," Navi answered.

Sig considered this, remembering his GrandDaru and all his Goron brothers. "…Okay, so what do you think we should do?" he asked.

"I think… now that we're down here anyway… we should lead them back out of the mountain. Then I'll accompany you back up to the summit, and--."

"You want me to fight Volvagia all on my own?!?" Sig exclaimed, staring at Navi as though she were out of her mind.

"Well, you took care of Subterror pretty well. I honestly think you could take care of Volvagia, too," Navi replied.

"Navi, Subterror was a mole. Volvagia is a dragon! You can't really compare the two!"

"I know that, Sig. But look at the alternative," Navi reasoned. "I care about those two as much as you do, but let's face it. If we wait for them to be ready, your home is going to be destroyed before we see so much as a scale on Volvagia's hide." Sig looked apprehensive. "Sig, I saw the Hero of Time fight Volvagia. I know what he's like, and I'm not lying when I say you can do this! You're the descendant of the great Goron hero who first defeated Volvagia in battle."

"But he had the legendary hammer," Sig countered.

"You've got a pretty legendary hammer, yourself," Navi replied, indicating the skull hammer in Sig's possession. Sig still looked unsure. "Sig, everyone is counting on _you_."

"Me?" Sig repeated. Navi bobbed, but Sig was having a debate with himself. '_What would GrandDaru do? No, it shouldn't matter what he would do. This is about what I would do. What would I do? Wait, that's what I'm trying to decide. I'm not a strong guy; I'm a smart guy, and a smart guy would know that fighting our guardian deity is crazy! You'd have to be insane to try it!_'

He was about to shake his head and declare his mind made up when another thought occurred to him. '_What if Navi's right? What if it takes too much time and Extendere Febelis really does get destroyed because I was too afraid to do what no one else could? Could I live with myself knowing that I ran away when I was the only one who could stop it?_'

Realization dawned on him.No one else could do it. Komali and Gremlin were unfit to fight. Link wasn't there. No other Goron had the guts. And GrandDaru couldn't even cross the bridge. What had Komali said on the roof at his special place? If he wanted to prove himself, he had to do something all his own. He was here for a reason. Maybe this was that reason. He'd come this far, hadn't he? What about all the stuff he'd already done? Saving his friends, beating those nejirons, the Goron Roll!

"I can do this…" he muttered to himself then, more boldly, "I _can_ do this." He turned to Navi and nodded. "Okay. Let's go," he declared adamantly. Navi, ecstatic, followed his lead.

* * *

Lord Valoo was just barely visible through the haze of ash and smoke and the crystalline cover over the mouth of the volcano. Sig stood outside the big door with all the elaborate chains and huge lock. '_No turning back now,_' he thought, taking the key and twisting it in the lock. There was a loud click, and all of the chains fell from the door. Steeling himself for what was beyond, Sig opened the door and stepped through.

On the other side was a tiny room, no more than a few square feet in area. To the left, not a foot away from Sig, was a large pedestal; to the right was a tall column that stretched to and through the ceiling. Stepping in to avoid the door closing behind him, Sig was unable to avoid the pedestal and stepped on it. It sank into the floor a bit, and Sig realized it was a switch. Not taking his Goron heritage for granted, he curled up and pounded it into the floor. As it sank, the column matched the motion, falling all the way down until it too was gone into the floor. Where it had disappeared from the ceiling was a bright patch of sky.

Sig could hear a clicking like a timer and only assumed that the column was his ride up. Not two seconds after he'd hopped onto the column, the clicking ceased, and the column rose to the ceiling once more, carrying the Goron with it all the way. It stopped, and Sig found himself standing upon the summit of Death Mountain. When Sig hopped onto the column, he was facing the back wall of the tiny room. When the column had reached its peak, Sig found himself facing the most amazing sight he'd yet seen.

He'd told Komali that his special place was the closest thing to a mountain without scaling Passing Peak. Now that he'd done it, he didn't know what had taken him so long. He felt miles up, and for just a moment, he thought he might have been in the mountains. All the fear and apprehension drained out of him as he turned to face Volvagia.

And it all came back to him just as suddenly as the dragon let out an almighty roar. "Holy moly…" Sig gulped, staring down the dragon. Darunia had shown him old scrolls depicting the dragon Volvagia, and he'd gotten a good enough look of Valoo when he first attacked the island. As far as he could guess, this dragon was neither or both. It had the build of Valoo, including his rounded body, thick legs, and long curving neck, but his scales had become fiery, and his face had changed and become more serpentine. Fire-like "hair" had sprouted from his head and his wings were now aflame. He had even donned the iron mask that Volvagia had sported years ago.

"Sig… Sig, you need to move!" Navi exclaimed as the dragon spat a jet of flame at them. Sig was jolted into action by the attack and rolled away just in time, rolling around the perimeter of the summit.

"Navi, what is that? That's not what I thought I'd be fighting!" Sig called to the fairy, who was flying after him.

"If I had to guess, I'd say he's taken on attributes of both dragons and a new form altogether. Volvaloo," Navi replied.

"Well, what do I do now? I don't know how to fight him!" Sig pleaded.

"I don't either, but the best way to find out is to take a minute to analyze your surroundings and your enemy," Navi advised.

"Analyze. Right." Sig skidded to a stop, leaping up to look around. The area atop the volcano consisted of a rim about twenty feet wide. Where the rim ended, the crystal cover began. Stationed at even intervals around the crystal were ten rose-colored crystals. Upon closer inspection, Sig could see that the crystals each sent out thick bands of rosy light, connecting each crystal with all of the others. "Does it look like that floor is supported by those crystals?" Sig asked Navi.

Navi floated down toward the crystals and investigated briefly. "I think you're right. See what happens if you smash one of them!" she directed.

Sig didn't care to take chances with a regular Goron punch and immediately took the skull hammer in hand. Running for the nearest crystal, he pulled the hammer over his shoulder and then swung it with all his might. The crystal cracked, and the bands emitted from it disappeared. That got Volvaloo's attention again and the dragon twisted his long neck about to glare at them. Sig looked up just in time to see a jet of fire fly his way. "Watch out!" Navi yelled just as Sig curled up and rolled away. "I think it worked! If you destroy all those crystals then the floor will disappear, and all the heat and smoke trapped in the volcano can escape. Hopefully that will stop the tremors on Extendere Febelis!"

"Gotcha!" Sig answered, hopping to his feet near another crystal and swinging the hammer at it. As it cracked, the crystal's bands disappeared, leaving the floor looking feeble on one side. Volvaloo twisted about to roar at him again, and Sig rolled away before he could breathe fire at him again. This time he didn't hear a roar of flames, however.

"Hey!" he heard Navi scream. He turned around to see Navi being dragged inside Volvaloo's mouth, wrapped in his flame-like tongue.

"Navi!" He'd let the Hero's fairy get eaten! Worse, with her out of the way, Volvaloo seemed intent upon grabbing Sig next! "Shoot!" he muttered to himself over and over like mantra as he continued to roll around the rim of the volcano. Every time he stopped to break a crystal, Volvaloo was ready to attack, and Sig instead had to roll away. "How am I supposed to do anything when he keeps blocking me?" he asked himself.

It was then he felt a familiar tingling in his back and realized just how fast he'd rolling. "Oh, please let this work!" he prayed as he pushed himself to roll faster until suddenly, with a burst of speed, he felt the spikes shoot out from his back. He altered course, making his way toward the nearest crystal and felt a satisfying crack as he made contact. In his mind he was cheering his head off, but out in reality, he was focusing on maintaining his speed as he approached the next crystal. There was another crack as another crystal was destroyed.

"Augh!" he cried out the next second as he was thrown sideways by a blast of fire. Volvaloo seemed to have caught onto his pattern of attack rather quickly. The fire didn't hurt his tough skin very badly, but the blow that Volvaloo landed with his claws the next second was more painful. Sig looked up to see the clawed hands coming at him again, this time to grab him up. Throwing himself to his feet, he began to roll away just as he heard an explosion somewhere above him.

Distracted by the sound, Sig stopped to turn to the origin of the sound and saw smoke disappearing from a place on Volvaloo's tail, the dragon having wheeled around to face the source of the explosion. "Not eat Goron boy!" came a familiar rasping voice.

Sig heard a twang and a whistle through the air and turned toward the place where the column had brought him to the summit. "Just because Medli hasn't been around to feed you, doesn't mean you can snack on my friend!" Komali yelled, sending another arrow toward Volvaloo's face.

"Guys!" Sig exclaimed excitedly.

* * *

Sig had parted ways with Komali and Gremlin upon reaching the magic bean plant. Komali feebly wished him luck and barely glanced back as he and Gremlin slouched away toward Goron City.

They'd been so miserable ever since they came back to life, and the problem was that no one really could know why. Even if they'd felt like telling them, they wouldn't do it to anyone that meant anything to them. The truth would hurt anyone who heard it, anyone who cared about them.

Komali looked over at Gremlin again. The creature still hadn't said anything, and he hadn't managed to stop crying even when they started moving again. Komali knew why it had been so hard on him, so it was obvious to him why it had been so much harder on Gremlin.

They made their way passed the entrance to Goron City, and they crossed a bridge over the lava. There was another gap ahead of them, and Komali prepared to fly himself to the other side.

Suddenly Gremlin's ears perked up and he looked around. "What's up?" Komali asked. Gremlin continued to look around until his gaze landed on the area to their right. There sat two boulders and a large space where another might have sat. Behind them was a large opening in the wall, the entrance to a cave. Komali groaned inwardly. "Let's just get out of here…" He made to unfurl his wings when he heard a voice, too soft to understand. Thinking it was Gremlin, he asked the creature what he'd said.

But when he turned toward him, Gremlin was gone. Feeling returning to him in the form of alarm, Komali looked about wildly for his companion and only spotted his tail as it disappeared behind the boulders and into the cave. His next feeling, exasperation, however, was quickly replaced by his third feeling, perplexity, as he heard the voice again and realized it wasn't Gremlin.

"_Come… here… child…_" He quickly understood why Gremlin had entered the cave: that was where the voice originated. His fourth feeling, curiosity, took control, and he followed quickly behind the boulders. Nervousness came next as he tiptoed cautiously down a dark tunnel. Then there was wonder when he found the real marvel of the cave, something he'd only heard of described by Link: a fairy's fountain. His footsteps echoed across the marble floor, but he didn't notice. He was distracted by the walls and ceiling which were covered with water flowing in every direction. It glittered and sparkled and reflected the light given off by the two torches at the other end of the room. They each glimmered with a blue flame.

Komali noticed Gremlin for the first time. The creature was standing atop a single step, which led up to the actual fountain. Komali joined him there wordlessly. On the floor, the symbol of the Triforce was emblazoned in gold. They waited for something to happen. For a few minutes, nothing did, and they began to forget their wonder and, instead, remember their grief.

Just when Komali was about to suggest a retreat, a flash of light in the fountain blinded them both. Melodious laughter filled their ears, like spring water trickling over a pebbly brook. When the light subsided, a sight more fantastic than the fountain itself met their eyes. Before them, hovering majestically, was the Great Fairy who resided in the fountain. She didn't look at all like Link had described. In fact, she looked almost human, except too beautiful to be so. She had lovely skin that seemed to glow, and though she only wore several leafy vines to cover it, Komali had never been less embarrassed by the female anatomy. The way she carried herself, it just seemed like a perfectly beautiful and natural thing. Her eyes weren't colorless or at all like Link had said; they were bright blue and full of knowledge and wisdom. The bright pink of her flowing hair didn't even seem an unnatural color. It just was, and that was all that mattered.

"I am the Great Fairy of Wisdom," she spoke, and her voice had the same soothing, melodic quality of her laugh. "I summoned you here, young ones, because I felt your pain as you were passing, and it made me grieve." Komali suddenly felt guilty for having caused such a being any amount of anguish. He looked away ashamedly. "You have suffered a great trauma. You now know something no living creature is ever meant to know: what lies beyond the end of life."

Komali squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back the tears again. Hearing her say it, hearing her sympathize with his pain, it all just made it come back again, and he could see it once more. He was in a dark place at first, but light came quickly. He could not even remember his surroundings. All he knew is that he was suddenly met by people-- people he'd known, people he'd loved… all people who'd died already. They were all there waiting to greet him. It was the greatest joy he'd known, seeing them again: old aunts and uncles, former Rito postmen he'd watched growing up, his mother, his grandmother… He'd already become accustomed to their presence once more. It was like they'd never left him in the first place. Pure love was all that he felt for them and from them. It was incredible.

Suddenly it all disappeared though. His family and loved ones vanished once again, and he was trapped in darkness. He didn't know how, but he fought, struggled to get back to them again. And then he opened his eyes, and he was alive once more, and it was like losing them all over again. All the pain he'd felt the first time they'd died, each and every one of them, came flooding back and overwhelmed him. It was unbearable, and yet, there was Sig and Navi, overjoyed to see them, and he knew they'd never know, never understand the pain in which he'd found himself. We wanted to say something, anything to keep them from asking, and all he'd managed was, "Don't tell Medli."

Gremlin was practically sobbing next to him. Komali was surprised he didn't do worse. Komali had only met with thirteen years of loss when he came to life again. Komali didn't know for sure how long Gremlin had lived, but he was sure that the amount of loss he'd seen could have revived enough pain to kill a lesser man.

It wasn't that they'd been scared or depressed by what lay beyond. They were upset that they'd been made to come back again.

The Great Fairy knew exactly what they were thinking as she watched them cry again, an expression of great remorse painted across her lovely face. "Death is a terrible and wonderful thing. To the living, losing a loved one to death can cause unbearable grief. To the deceased, regaining those same loved ones brings overwhelming happiness. You now know both, and it has made you to forget that you have something just as wonderful."

"What?" Komali asked without thinking.

She smiled serenely. "I will show you," she said, spreading her arms.

Warmth, pure and strong, swept through the two boys, and a strange humming resounded in the air. Both were surrounded by swirling blue light, and they felt their feet lifted from the ground. Not knowing why, Komali closed his eyes, and when he did, he saw a face. His father. Then Quill's face took the place of his father. Medli's face swam into his vision. Then Akoot, Skett, Ilari, every other Rito guard and postman, Medli again, Link, Tetra, the pirates, Navi, Medli, Rosari, Mayor Joshi, Joseph, Luís, Señora Elena, Gremlin, everyone in Port of Sun, Medli, Daena, Saeda, Fiyero, Medli, Lord Valoo, Sig, Darunia, Lobster, Biggoron, all the inhabitants of Extendere Febelis, Medli, very brief flashes of people he didn't know but looked very familiar. Medli's face hovered in front of him one last time, disappearing slowly as the light disappeared and his feet met the floor once more. The warmth of the Great Fairy's magic was gone, but he was full of a new warmth, spreading from the smile on his face down to his heart, which was swelling with love for the people he'd just seen. It spread through the tips of his fingers and the toes in his shoes, now itching to move after shuffling along for so long.

The toothy grin on Gremlin's face told him that he'd witnessed the same thing. Happily, they saw that their smiles were also reflected on the fairy's face. "At times, mortals become so aggrieved by those they have lost that they forget those that they still have. Celebrate the lives of the deceased, but never forget that you live still. That is my gift to you."

"Thank you," both boys said.

"Whenever you grow weary, return to this place, and you will find strength once more." Her smile spread as she threw her arms into the air, laughing her musical laugh as she disappeared in a burst of light. In her place, a dozen or so fairies appeared, flitting about the fountain. Thinking they ought to return the bottles to Link in the same condition they'd taken them, the boys scooped a fairy into each bottle and turned to leave the fountain.

As they made their way down the darkness of the tunnel, out to the crater, Gremlin sighed. "Gremlin feel better," he declared. "Is not feels good like this for long, long times."

"Yeah, me too," Komali agreed. "I feel like I could take on that dragon all by myself."

Gremlin laughed with him but was the first to stop a few seconds later. "…Goron boy fighting dragon alones!" he exclaimed, remembering suddenly why Sig and Navi had been absent during their visit with the Great Fairy.

Komali nearly tripped at the declaration. "We let him go off on his own?!" he cried, hardly believing their actions.

"We goes?" Gremlin suggested, taking the running start.

"Well, yeah!"

* * *

"You're okay! How?" Sig exclaimed, his voice quickly changing to confusion as he realized they were both bright-eyed and ready to charge.

"Is long stories," Gremlin waved his hand.

"Just tell us how we can help. Move!" Komali flapped into the air, and Sig rolled away as Gremlin dove to the side, dodging a swipe of Volvaloo's claw.

"I just need a distraction," Sig called as he rolled around to Volvaloo's backside.

"You got it!" Komali answered, turning to fire another arrow at Volvaloo's head, getting a good look this time. "That's _not_ Lord Valoo!"

"Long story!" Sig called as Gremlin tossed another bomb at Volvaloo. The dragon didn't know who to attack and ended up just breathing fire up into the air as Sig rolled into two more crystals. The floor beneath Volvaloo was beginning to look very feeble, and Sig could only pray that destroying it would also cause some damage to the dragon.

"Over heres!" Gremlin taunted, trying to draw its attention from Sig, who was destroying the seventh crystal. The creature almost regretted the action, as the dragon swiped a claw in his direction. Gremlin yelped and dropped his already lit bomb. The explosive bounced toward the nearest crystal and exploded, drawing a satisfying crack from the crystal.

"Gremlin! Throw me a bomb!" Komali called, getting an idea. As soon as he had it, he stabbed it with an arrow and took aim for the crystal farthest from Sig. Volvaloo roared and tried to breathe fire in Komali's direction before he could release the bomb arrow, but a loud gulping sound suddenly sounded from his throat as Gremlin lobbed a bomb high in the air. The dragon swallowed the bomb, and not a second later, there were two blasts and a crack: Komali's arrow hit its target, and Gremlin's bomb exploded in Volvaloo's stomach.

The dragon was now thoroughly stunned, leaving Sig open to attack the last crystal. As the crack sounded through the air, the crystal floor beneath Volvaloo disappeared, and the boys barely saw the surprise in its eye as it dropped into the volcano, disappearing in a sudden rush of steam and smoke into the air. They did, however, ear the gagging noise issue from Volvaloo's throat, and Sig and Gremlin were hit by something slimy and gloppy. Komali, however, was distracted by a small ball of light being thrown through the air. He leapt for the sky and just managed to catch the fairy.

"Navi?!" he blurted, flapping back to the ground next to his friends. The fairy was a bit blackened but otherwise recognizable.

"Navi! You're all right!" Sig cried out.

"Where ball was?" Gremlin asked, bewildered.

"Volvaloo swallowed me whole," Navi coughed. "It's okay though! I know why he's acting so strangely!"

"Does it have something to do with this?" Sig asked, holding up the slimy mass that had hit him.

"Yes! It's a parasite that's made its home in Lord Valoo," Navi explained. "It's attached itself to his insides and is controlling his actions. Whoever threw the bomb in there did you guys a huge favor. It's started to dislodge the parasite from inside him, and when he fell he regurgitated the loose chunks!"

"That's--! Actually, that's pretty disgusting," Komali said, screwing up his face in revulsion.

"But it's working!" Sig declared. "If you guys keep throwing bombs in there and I keep breaking his floor, we'll be able to get rid of the parasite and save--!"

He was cut off as Volvaloo roared from within the volcano, beating his fiery wings to life himself above the rim again. The crystal reformed beneath him, and he dropped himself upon it again. "Let's go!" Sig shouted, rolling up again and speeding off as Komali and Gremlin returned to their distracting tactics. Komali shot an arrow toward Volvaloo's head to get his attention, and Gremlin threw a bomb into its mouth before it could flame Komali.

Sig, meanwhile, was speeding around the rim, spikes protruding from his back and blue magic enveloping his body. As he hit them, each crystal gave a great _crack_, and the bands disappeared from them. "Last one!" Navi yelled to him as he approached the tenth crystal. Sig grinned as he rolled toward it, but he suddenly felt a gross decrease in speed, and there was no crack when he hit the crystal. Instead he bounced off it toward the outside of the rim. "That didn't mean you could slow down!" Navi exclaimed.

"I know. I'm just… tired," Sig told her as he stood up dizzily.

Navi flew over, "What do you mean you're tired?"

"Like one second I was fine and the next I just couldn't keep up that speed," Sig answered.

"Sig!" Komali yelled, realizing the Goron had stopped rolling. Unfortunately, he also drew Volvaloo's attention to his friend. "Shoot! Gremlin! Bomb!" Gremlin threw the bomb to Komali just as Volvaloo was prepping to make another grab at Sig. Komali didn't take time to aim properly, but fortune favored him, and the bomb arrow hit the crystal. The dragon let out another great _horf_ as it fell, and even more of the parasite rained down on them as Komali and Gremlin dashed over to Sig to find out what had happened.

"Why Goron boy stops?" Gremlin asked.

"I think he ran out of magic power. The Goron roll runs on it, and Sig's too inexperienced to possess a lot of it," Navi responded, having just realized the answer herself.

"So, what, you can't break those crystals anymore?" Komali asked. "Do we need to start blowing them up instead?"

"No, save the bombs for Volvaloo. I'll use the hammer instead," Sig answered. They heard Volvaloo roar again, and his head became visible in the rim. "Just keep distracting him! This'll take a little longer!" He ran over to wait at the nearest crystal until the floor reformed. As soon as he saw the bands of light shoot out of the crystals, Sig swung at the nearest one and rolled off for the next one.

"Open wide!" Komali yelled, firing again at Volvaloo. The dragon glared at him and took a deep breath to send flames flying at Komali. Just as Gremlin flung a bomb at his mouth, however, the dragon jerked his head away. "Oy! No fair!" Komali exclaimed, firing another arrow to get the titan to open his mouth again. Volvaloo seemed to be done with that game, though, and instead looked out the corner of his eye in order swipe at the Rito. Komali just managed to dive out of the way as Gremlin tossed a bomb at the dragon's neck to draw his attention from the Rito. Volvaloo wouldn't open his mouth though, at least not in their direction. He did turn around to fire at Sig, who quickly rolled away. By the time he'd destroyed all but two crystals, his companions still hadn't gotten another bomb down Volvaloo's throat.

"What's the hold-up, guys? I can't drop him if he hasn't eaten anymore bombs!" Sig called, dodging another jet of flames.

"We is has problems!" Gremlin answered, joining Komali. "What do?"

"I don't know! If we can't get him to open his mouth at one of us, we'll never get a bomb in there!" Komali responded. Volvaloo seemed to sense their crisis and lifted his face skyward, roaring in what was distinctively a laugh as he continued to swipe at Sig, who was his main target now that he knew Komali and Gremlin were powerless. "Can't do that in our direction, can you!"

Gremlin, however, had gotten an idea and kneeled down behind Komali, grabbing him around the ankles and lifting him over his head. "Whoa! What are you doing?" Komali demanded.

"Flies! Flies ups!" Gremlin instructed, pointing with one free hand for Volvaloo's head. Komali was still a bit confused as he flapped into the air and headed for Volvaloo's head. He understood, though, when Gremlin lit a bomb with his free hands and took aim. Komali tried to get as close to the roaring dragon as possible. Then Gremlin dropped the bomb right down Volvaloo's throat. As the muffled explosion sounded from Volvaloo's belly, Sig smacked the last crystal, and the dragon dropped once more. Huge chunks of the parasite flew from his mouth as Komali and Gremlin landed next to Sig and Navi.

"That was brilliant!" Komali declared, throwing an arm around Gremlin's neck and punching him in the shoulder, the creature laughing in return.

"Is he coming back?" Sig wondered aloud, leaning over the volcano and staring down into the crater. Just as Komali and Gremlin joined him, they all leapt back as Volvaloo flew, thrashing, back into the air. The dragon landed on the rim this time, and the boys prepared to attack it. The dragon was not paying them any attention, however. It was now doubled over, twitching and convulsing. The fiery color of its scales and the flames on its neck and wings were flickering indecisively. It kept throwing its neck out and wheezing, and the boys couldn't understand why until, suddenly, it opened its mouth wide and retched one last time. Out from its throat flew a large black mass, slimy, writhing, and obviously in pieces.

What remained of the parasite bounced around the rim of the volcano, trying to escape. Suddenly it changed course and bounded toward Sig, Komali, and Gremlin. Sig lifted the hammer in defense and, as soon as the blob was near, swung down upon the mass. Black slime flew everywhere as the parasite was smashed. Sig and his friends were covered in it, and only Sig, whose glasses had protected his eyes, could see the amazing transformation occurring in front of them.

The fire disappeared from every inch of Volvaloo's body, and his neck and face shrank back to normal length. His eyes refocused, and the mask fell to the ground with a clatter as Valoo returned.

* * *

Selphie: Victory! Yay!!! I've been dying to write that battle for, like, a year, and it was so much more fun than I ever anticipated. Hadn't planned on Navi getting eaten, but someone needed to get in there and see the parasite. The parasite, by the way, is the thing that Valoo actually ate in Chapter 24. Y'know... _forever _ago. Anyhow... 

I don't even remember when I came up with the Great Fairy healing Komali and Gremlin. I guess it had to be in the last week, since that's when I wrote it... but yeah. That's what death is like for mortals in the Zelda universe (or so I've decided). But living is great too! Even we forget that sometimes. I didn't realize it when I wrote it, but the Great Fairy in Death Mountain Crater is the Great Fairy of Wisdom. Way appropriate, huh? And she's supposed to look like the Great Fairies from Ocarina of Time, but more beautiful and less... scary.

I wouldn't challenge my god to a fight. Never.

Okay, That's it, mostly because I have to get to PRO training in like fifteen minutes, and I don't have time to type up a really long note. I'm back on campus, by the way, and I'm loving it! It's so great to be back at school. Oh! And I got to bring the Gamecube this time, so I'll have Wind Waker anytime I need to reference anything! Yay!

I'm thinking about changing my Pen Name. I know I've always been Selphie Louise, but I don't really like having the same name as one of my OCs, especially when I'm typing my author's notes as Selphie. So, if you think it's a terrible idea, tell me, if not, I already know what I want my new name to be. Anyhow...

Okay, off to training! R&R and KIT&KIR! Hasta, folks!


	33. Chapter 32

Edit (5/31/08): **This is not a new chapter!** While revising the earlier chapters, I inadvertently made one too long, causing everything else to shift up one. So, what was Chapter 31 is now Chapter 32, the same "new chapter" I submitted last time. I guess it doesn't hurt that you all got alerts and stuff, though, because now I can direct you to the new revised chapters: 2 and 3. Four is old content that no longer flows and will soon be revised, as well.

Oh, and these start notes right below here? Linebeck's full of crap. Don't listen to him. Phanton Hourglass doesn't mess with the canon that much, and it hasn't taken me eight months to figure out where it fits in with my story: I've just been fighting a computer hell virus. New content is back in the works!

* * *

Selphie: Well, well, well. What have we--?

Linebeck: I would like to lodge a formal complaint against this fanfiction!

Din: ...Who the hell are you?

Linebeck: I can't tell you, for it would spoil the Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, sequel to Wind Waker. All you need to know is that I feature in arecently released game, and that this story may or may not fall into continuity after its release.

Nayru: ...Well, crap.

Linebeck: Indeed. I recommend that the author ceases composition until she has sufficient knowledge to circumvent potential problems.

Farore: Aww... but we were having fun terrorizing the earth again...

Tingle: Guys, if you think about it, she won't be writing when she gets the game anyway. She's going to spend all of her free time _playing_, not writing.

Darunia: It's true. We're gonna take the back burner for the next month anyway.

Selphie: Yes, I acquired said game today and have only just begun playing it. That aside, I have a new chapter for you right now, It was actually done several weeks ago, but I wanted to finish revising Chapter 2 before I posted this, but I also wanted to post it before I started playing Phantom Hourglass. This is the result. It probably makes more sense for me to wait until after PH to do that anyway. This is going to be a long process, but, at least in my mind, it will be worth it. Either way several very important things happen in it, so read on.

Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Rosari, Gremlin, Daena, Saeda, Fiyero, Sig, Lobster, and Biggoron, as well as most of those other cool Goron peeps and the old pirate crew.

Darunia: And there's a new face, but we won't spoil it for you, so we'll try this again at the end of the chapter!

Selphie: If you see some words in this chapter that you don't recognize or understand and they're in all caps, I suggest reversing your alphabet (i.e. A is Z, B is Y, C is X, etc.). Also, quick reminder, for those of you who didn't quite get the message before before: for f--'s sake KOMALI AND GREMLIN ARE NOT DEAD!! ...Ahem. Read on.

* * *

Chapter 32

At first the Gorons of Extendere Febelis thought they were being attacked once more. When Valoo suddenly lifted into the air again and swooped down toward Big Brother's house, just about the entire population dashed into the nearest doorway, whether it was theirs or not, and cowered with their brothers. The panic was only exacerbated when one Goron noticed and yelled, "He's carrying a Goron!"

Lobster, who had been trying to fish through his window quickly reeled in his line and took off for Darunia's house. Only two other Gorons remained outdoors: Biggoron and Darunia. Biggoron was being yelled at by his wife for sitting outside making anchors when that dragon was on the rampage. He just muttered, "No danger. Those kids're with him…" and kept working.

Indeed, if anyone had taken the time to look, they would have seen a Rito flying along next to Valoo, a strange creature hanging beneath him, a fairy fighting to keep up, and a young Goron laughing in Valoo's claws. Darunia was standing atop his home, in Sig's special spot. _He _could see the creature and Rito alongside the great dragon, and he could tell that there as no danger. However, he was also very worried because his descendant was nowhere in sight, and he was very confused by the Goron that Valoo was carrying. Darunia had not seen a Goron that large since Bear. He could even give Darunia a run for his rupees.

Komali was a bit confused about the Goron in Valoo's claws, too. His friend was definitely different, and it definitely was not the way he was laughing with their deity or the new air of confidence he wore or any of the ways he'd grown in the volcano.

As the three boys and the dragon touched down on Sig's special spot, however, Komali realized that it _was _one of the ways his friend had grown. "Sig! You're _huge_!" Komali blurted upon getting a good look at the Goron.

"What d'you--?" Sig started to ask but was cut off by Darunia running over and demanding, "Where is he?!"

"Who?" Gremlin asked.

"You know wh--!" Darunia started but stopped short as he got a good look at the Goron in front of him. "Is that y--?" he started to ask incredulously but was cut off by Lobster calling up from below them, "Big Brother! I came as soon as I saw it, just like you asked!"

"I'll let him up," Komali offered, running over and opening the trapdoor.

"Is it safe?" Lobster asked, seeing Valoo.

"Yeah, he's--," Komali started but was cut off by three voices calling, "Hold on! Let us up, too!" He looked down to see Link, Tetra, and Medli running across the terrace.

Medli flapped up quickly and threw herself at Komali, wrapping him in a hug, crying, "You did it! You did it! You're alive!"

"Hey, again, Lord Valoo! Good to see you again!" Link greeted the deity.

"Who's that guy?" Tetra asked suddenly, spotting Sig.

Lobster, noticing him for the first time as well, chimed in, "Yeah. Who are you? Wait, and where's Sig?"

"Haha. Funny, guys," Sig laughed.

"Funny nothing! Seriously! Where's our brother?" Lobster demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Sig.

"What?! Lobster! It's me! It's--!"

"Look, buddy. You're a Goron and my brother, but if you don't tell us where Sig is, I will kick your--!"

"HEY! That's not appropriate, Lobster! By Din you Gorons have some foul mouths sometimes…" Navi made herself heard over everyone. Everyone was now talking louder and asking where Sig was. The three boys and the fairy were trying to get a word in edgewise so that they could make everyone come to their senses and realize what had happened, but to no avail. Darunia continued to stand and stare at Sig as though trying to work out the sight in front of him. The trend of cutting people off was continuing at a heightened pace, and Sig was getting more and more distraught as no one recognized him, and he wasn't even sure _why_--!

"_RRROOOAAARRR!!_" Hands flew up to everyone's ears to protect them from Lord Valoo's great bellow. "HLNVGSRMT ZNZARMT SZH SZKKVMVW GL LFI BLFMT HRT GLWZB. SV VCKVIRVMXVW HLNVGSRMT ZOO TLILMH NFHG UZXV, GSLFTS NZMB UZXV RG NFXS OZGVI."

"…What?!" Darunia exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock. "You can't mean--?!"

"What did he say, Darunia?" Lobster asked.

"He said Sig 'experienced something all Gorons must face, though many face it much later,'" Darunia translated.

"He doesn't mean…?!" Lobster cried out, misunderstanding.

"GSV HRT BLF PMVD RH RMWVVW TLMV," Valoo continued.

"Sig is gone?!" Medli cut in before Darunia could properly translate. "But-- but he can't be!"

"Medli, I'm right here!" Sig shouted. "Why don't you recognize me?!"

"Because you're not--!" Lobster shouted.

"YVXZFHV SV'H IVAXSVW SRH KIRNV!" "BECAUSE HE'S REACHED HIS PRIME!" Valoo and Darunia both shouted at once, and the older Goron grabbed up the younger in the biggest Goron hug they'd ever seen.

"My grandson! I'm so proud of you! How amazing! And so early!" Darunia began to ramble.

"What's going on?" Tetra asked, stepping in confusedly.

"That's what I wanna know!" Sig cried out from his ancestor's embrace.

"Sig, I don't suppose you've taken a chance to take a good look at yourself today, have you?" Komali asked, finally able to get a word in.

"Are you telling me that's Sig?" Tetra asked.

"That can't be," Lobster replied skeptically. "No offense, Big Brother, but Sig is… well, scrawny."

"Hey!" Sig exclaimed. "I am not!"

"Well, not anymore. Look at yourself," Komali suggested.

"…I'd like to," Sig answered, trying to wriggle free of Darunia's grasp. To his surprise, he actually managed to do so. "I've never been able to do that before," he said to himself, confusedly. Looking down he saw why, and he almost fell over in surprise. He no longer lacked the sheer size that his ancestor possessed, and his build was no longer average. His stomach protruded proudly, and his arms were now thick as his human friends' heads. His legs were about three times as broad as they'd been that morning. He now stood only a few inches shorter than Darunia, and he just realized that the straps had broken across his now barrel-sized chest, his kilt uncomfortably tight. Even his glasses were sticking out at odd angles, unable to conform to the new size of his head.

"What happened to me?" he asked, even his voice a little deeper now that he'd noticed. "I'm huge!"

"You've reached your prime, Sig," Darunia told him, beaming proudly. "Today you are a man."

"But I'm only fourteen!" Sig replied in shock.

"A record, I think," Darunia grinned. "And I can only guess it has to do with your adventure and the saving of our deity. No other Goron has done such a thing since our ancient ancestor who first defeated Volvagia."

"So, you're telling me that this is Sig, and he's completely grown up in half a day?" Lobster interrupted.

"I told you he looked different," Komali said to Gremlin.

"Gremlin see now. Goron is definitesly primes," Gremlin conceded, shrugging his shoulders.

Sig was still trying to work through this. "You okay?" Komali asked.

"Yeah, I'm just… trying to work my head around this…" Sig replied. "I mean, I've just done a lot of things today. I mean, I saved you guys, I mastered the Goron roll--."

"You did?!" Darunia and Lobster both exclaimed.

"As in magic spikes and all that?" Lobster asked. Sig nodded. "But Big Brother's the only one who can do that," Lobster said in awe.

"It was something I had to do. Komali and Gremlin were about to--." Sig caught sight of Komali making a cut off motion across his throat and glancing at Medli. "Well, they were trapped. I had to defeat this Subterror thing and free them. And of course we all got that parasite out of Volvaloo." No one bothered asking who Volvaloo was.

"Sounds like you've earned it," Darunia commented.

"It's just so early for this to happen. Most Gorons don't reach their prime until they're, like, twenty. Right, GrandDaru?" Sig replied.

"Pfft. If you ask me, you're behind the game. I mean, we're all already adults," Komali responded.

Link, Tetra, and Medli all nodded. "I've been captain of my ship since I was ten," Tetra informed.

"Grandma gave me a green tunic when I was twelve and told me I was a man," Link added.

"And we got our scales from Lord Valoo when we were twelve," Medli put in, pulling out her scale as Komali showed off his.

Sig wasn't sure how to respond. "HRT, ZH Z TLILM BLF ZIV FMWVI NB XZIV. BLF SZEV VZIMVW GSRH TRUG ZH Z IVHFOG LU BLFI LCM SZIW DLIP ZMW GSV YIZEV GZHP BLF SZEV FMWVIGZPVM ULI BLFI KVLKOV. RG GZPVH Z NZM GL WL GSV GSRMTH BLF SZEV WLMV, ZMW Z NZM BLF ZIV MLD."

"He says, as a Goron you are under his care," Darunia translated, placing his hands on Sig's shoulders. "You have earned this gift as a result of your own hard work and the brave task you have undertaken for your people. It takes a man to do the things you have done, and a man you are now. And I couldn't have said it better myself." Sig was stone-faced for a moment, but finally his mouth turned up in a smile, and he gave his GrandDaru the biggest big Goron hug he could muster. If it had been Lobster, Sig might have crushed him.

"R NFHG GSZMP ZOO LU BLF," Lord Valoo continued, motioning to Sig, Komali, and Gremlin. "GSILFTS BLFI VUULIGH R SZEV YVVM HZEVW ZMW NB XSROWIVM SZEV YVVM HZEVW. R WVVN BLF ZOO SVILVH."

"He says thank you to the three of you and deems you all heroes!" Medli exclaimed.

"Awesome!" Komali exclaimed, punching the air and high-fiving Gremlin. He then turned to Link with a big smirk on his face. "How's it feel, not being the only hero it town?"

"BLFMT ORMP RH HGROO _GSV _SVIL," Valoo appended.

"He says Link is still _The _Hero," Navi told him. Link smirked right back at his friend.

Valoo brought his hands together and broke off the tip of a claw from his left hand. "R KIVHVMG GSRH GL BLF. RG DROO XLNKOVGV BLFI GIZMHRGRLM GL ZWFOGSLLW ZMW HVIEV ZH Z HBNYLO LU BLFI GIRFNKSH." He lowered his hand and presented the claw to Sig.

"It will complete your transition to adulthood and serve as a symbol of your triumphs. I suggest you wear it proudly," Navi translated.

"I will. Thank you," Sig answered his deity, taking the claw. Lord Valoo roared his goodbye and flapped his wings, lifting into the air once more. Then he swooped off in the direction of Dragon Roost Island, calling back, "XLNV SLNV HLLM, NVWOR! R'N MLG EVIB TLLW ZG UVVWRMT NBHVOU!" Medli, Darunia, and Navi laughed and didn't care to translate.

Sig shrugged away his confusion. "Anyone have a string?" he asked.

"Gotcha covered, brother," Lobster answered, pulling out a length of thick twine fishing line. When he handed it to Sig he grasped his hand for a moment and pulled him into a Goron hug. Sig strung the string through the claw and then placed it around his neck. The claw glowed for a moment, and Sig suddenly expanded a few more inches. There was a loud ripping noise, and everyone quickly averted or covered their eyes as Sig realized, "I need some new clothes…"

* * *

_Things had grown rather tense in the Core Custody Chamber since Selphie first arrived there. From under the table she had a safe vantage point from which to watch the interactions between each of the four villainous souls._

_Mace seemed to be the only one who'd retained his usual nature recently. Despite his moment of brilliance, he was still less bothered with their plan than with being work-shy. The only thing that had changed about him was that he was no longer constantly accompanied by his best friend, though he clearly chose not to care._

_Curt had been far less carefree and lackadaisical and more sulky and short-tempered. Now that Mace had re-earned Sakon and Dimitra's respect, Curt was the odd man out, and he took it out on the only person who still paid him any attention. Eventually, Mace got sick of hearing Curt whine about being ignored and kept to himself instead._

_Sakon, bitter at being snubbed by his master, was in no temper to speak to anyone, even about their plans. This was unfortunate, because now that they were as good as free, Dimitra was inclined to begin strategizing for their evil doings in the above world. When she began to do so, Sakon more often told her to do it herself if no one thought his input was worth anything. Dimitra's usual response only exacerbated his mood, as she did just that, threatening to ignore his motives when she drafted their plot._

_The Deku's behavior was most difficult to follow. For the most part she appeared out-and-out committed to their evil scheme, being the only one to show any interest in it since they'd last spoken to their master. If Selphie had been in on the plot and experiencing the different sentiments and resentments of the villains, she probably would have assumed that Dimitra was simply on a high horse from being treated so favorably by their master. When she appeared haughty, she was simply reminding them of who had done the most work so far._

_Selphie knew better, though. She didn't know what it was exactly, but something in the Dimitra's wooden expressions and demeanor told her that it wasn't about being favorite or the amount of devotion she possessed. At times, Dimitra appeared to know something the others didn't. If this was the case, Selphie didn't know the secret either, but somehow she was glad it was Dimitra who displayed this behavior. If it had been Sakon or either of the other men, Selphie would have been scared. Dimitra had been the only one to show any sign of a conscience, though, and that was very comforting._

_Curt was laying back on his bed, twirling one of his bangles on his finger. Sakon was pacing back and forth in his corner, clearly trying to devise a way to regain approval from his master. Mace was curled up on his bed, sleeping. Dimitra suddenly appeared next to him, sash in hand, and made her proposition. "Since Sakon 'as insisted upon be'aving like a child, would you assist me wiss our next task?"_

"_Mm… nope," he answered, remaining in his curled position._

"_Hmph. I suppose you would prefer to be excluded from all plotting once again, oui?" she sniffed condescendingly._

"_If it'll get me some more alone time, then yes," he replied._

_Dimitra threw her arm in a downward arc and a loud crack and small burst of light filled the chamber, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. "Our work iz not done!" she shouted. "Zere iz still much to be done before--!"_

"_Oh, Mace! Look what you've done," Sakon cut in loudly from across the room. "You've set her on a self-righteous tirade. Bravo."_

"_You are zee one 'oo iz srowing a tantrum because 'is idol doesn't like a kiss-up!" Dimitra retorted._

"_You are zee one 'oo is pretending she did all the f--ing work!" Sakon mocked._

"_Lately I 'ave been! You are being a brat. Mace iz being lazy!"_

"_Meh…" Mace answered._

"_Hello? No one's even _asked_ me for help!" Curt shouted indignantly from his place but was ignored._

"_Oh! Excellent, Mace! Keep up that pace, and maybe in another millennium you'll be up to two ideas!" Sakon returned._

"_And where 'ave your brilliant ideas been lately, Sakon? Zee last one I remember iz cheating me out of a new power!" Dimitra rejoined._

"_Will you get over that already?!" Sakon shouted._

"_Oy! Mace and I didn't get powers either!" Curt called angrily, ignored again._

"_Maybe we'd get over it if you'd actually use your new power!" Dimitra bellowed. "You 'aven't done anysing since getting it!"_

"_I haven't had the chance!" Sakon rejoined._

"_Heh. Bullshit," Mace called on him._

"_Oy! Is there a good reason I'm never included?!" Curt yelled, ignored one last time. Throwing his arms forward and out in a breast stroke, Curt summoned an almighty deluge that swept his three companions from their feet and pitched them into the wall. Mace flailed wildly, Sakon was forced into underwater somersaults, and several leaves and other items were yanked from Dimitra's person._

"_Are you trying to kill us?!" Dimitra demanded, appearing in Curt's face two seconds later._

"_If that's what I gotta do to get some attention around here, then yeah!" Curt retorted._

"'_Ow about I electrocute you? Would zat satisfy your craving for attention?" Dimitra rejoined._

"_I just don't see any reason I should add my power to this plan if I don't get any input!" Curt responded._

"_Oh, I dunno. Freedom, life, escape from this thousand year prison!" Sakon answered._

"_And then I can fade into the background once again. I was once the most feared Zora in all of Termina! I don't see why I should take a backseat to you guys!" Curt replied._

"_We are not Zoras, Curt! We 'ave all been most feared in our time, and we just 'appen to be more fearsome zan you," Dimitra countered._

"_Guys!" Mace bellowed before anyone else could react. "Why are we fighting?"_

"_Because Sakon iz an ass, Curt iz useless, and you are a sloth," Dimitra answered._

"_Whatever, Dimitra. I've always been lazy and Sakon's always been an ass-- it's why we like you. So, what's the problem all of a sudden?" Mace asked._

"_You guys won't include me in the plans anymore!" Curt responded._

"_Yes, yes. We heard you the first time," Sakon waved his hand dismissively._

"_Oy! I know tensions are running high now that we're so close to our goal," Mace said. "But that means now is the worst time to fall apart! We don't know how long until we're getting out of here, and how do you think our good buddy on the outside would react if this is what he found when he came to recover us?" This notion rang true for his companions. "That's what I thought. Look, Dimitra, we've been straight at work for too long now. Can't future plots wait for now?"_

_Dimitra harrumphed. "I suppose it's our master's right to plot, anyway…"_

"_And Sakon, if you want some respect, you gotta be yourself. You're a thief, not a kiss-ass," Mace turned to his human companion._

"_How cliché…" Sakon smirked, though it was obvious that he agreed._

"_And Curt, drowning your neighbors is not the way to go about making friends. I know; I've tried it," Mace moved to his best friend._

"_And the truth comes out…" Curt shook his head, a wry smile on his scaly face. "How much longer are we going to be trapped in here?" he wondered aloud._

"_Couldn't say," Sakon answered, making himself comfortable on the nearest bed._

"_Why don't we find out?" Curt suggested._

"_Not a terrible idea, I'll admit," Sakon replied. "Dimitra, I believe you have the sash?"_

"_I do--," Dimitra responded. She cut short, however, when she realized that the hand that once held the sash was now empty. "I do not 'ave it…"_

"_What?" Sakon's face fell, as did Mace and Curt's._

"_You _had_ it. Where is it now?" Curt asked, Sakon standing from the bed once again._

"_I must 'ave given it to Mace when I was trying to make 'im work," Dimitra shook her head, looking to the Goron. Curt was busy scanning the floor around them for it._

"_Do you see this face?" Mace asked, pointing to his mug. "This is my, 'No, I don't have the sash. What the hell did you do with it?' face."_

"_Did you lose your hold in Curt's flood?" Sakon asked._

"_If she did, I don't know where it went since," Curt replied, finding nothing across the floor and instead turning in circles to peer around the entire room but stopping quickly and putting a hand to his mouth to hide his smirk._

"_Where could it have gone to, then?" Mace asked._

"_Heheheh…" Curt laughed softly, facing the far side of the room._

"_Did you find it?" Sakon asked._

"_What iz so funny?" Dimitra inquired. Curt pointed across the room to the other commonly ignored occupant of the chamber. Beneath a small fortress of table and chairs sat Selphie, now firm and poised, with her sash once again tied securely around her waist._

* * *

Far more than he had been before his trip to Passing Peak, Sig was quite sure that his imminent journey was for the best. Aside from playing his role in his friends' grand adventure, he was glad to be leaving the pointing and staring that had followed him for the past few hours. At the very least, he didn't have to stop and explain to every one of the Gorons why he was suddenly the size of his GrandDaru. Lobster had already gone around the island making the announcement to everyone that Sig had reached his prime, really, he swore!

Because he'd reached his prime, Sig found it exceedingly difficult to remain inconspicuous as he made his way to Tetra's ship the morning after they'd saved the islands. Somehow everyone still managed to recognize him despite the drastic change in his appearance. Since his old clothes didn't fit anymore, Sig had to search out new garments. He now bore a kilt similar to his old one, but the straps hooked around a metal ring where they would have crossed at the center of his chest. Also, since his head had become larger, he had to abandon his glasses. Instead, he now had a set of goggles that he'd only ever used at the Goron races. Now they were the only thing that fit and not leave him completely blind.

At the pier where the ship was moored, Darunia was talking to the group. Link was finally smiling again whilst he and Tetra conversed spiritedly with the Goron elder. Medli was holding onto Komali's hand, and he seemed to be enjoying her company after his particular experiences in the mountain. Gremlin was the first to see Sig approach and greeted him, "Mornings!"

"Hey, guys," Sig replied, waving. He took a good look at the ship now that he was that close. "So, this is it, huh?"

"That happens to be the best ship you'll find on these seas, kid," Tetra responded, slightly indignant.

"Sorry, I've just never been on a ship or boat of any kind," Sig answered.

"It won't be bad. We've got it all rigged up for you, so it should be a smooth journey," Link assured him. "Plus, we won't be doing much sailing, so it will go by pretty quickly."

Sig nodded. "I guess you kids should get going, then," Darunia smiled around at them all. Darunia turned to face Sig, and his descendant was surprised to see tears in the older Goron's eyes as he pulled him into the biggest Goron hug he could muster. "If I could tell you how proud I am of you, I would. But words can't describe it." Sig couldn't have responded even if he'd known how. Darunia released him and grinned wide. "I want to see you all again real soon. Brothers shouldn't be strangers," he winked to their new friends.

"Nah, we thought we'd kidnap Sig and never return," Komali smirked, stepping forward with his hand extended. He should have known better as Darunia grabbed his whole arm and pulled him into a hug too. He did the same for each of them before allowing them to board. As Sig carefully crossed the deck and went inside, Navi hovered near Darunia for a moment. "How big is this adventure?" Darunia asked quietly so that only she could hear.

"It's not a global threat. They were villains in their own right, but Sakon and the others were relatively small time," Navi answered.

"Relative to what?" Darunia posed.

"Ganondorf, for one. I heard about the mask that almost destroyed Termina, and they're not on his level either. They'll all be fine, Darunia. He's our Link reincarnated, afterall," Navi assured him. Darunia sighed, nodding in approval. He held up his hand under Navi, and she sat on it.

"It's good to see you again, Navi. Familiar faces are rare, I'm sure you know," he said.

"Yeah…" she answered, suddenly remembering the other familiar face she would have to deal with again now that they were back on the ship.

"Take care, my friend," Darunia told her, allowing her to fly back to the ship.

"I'll see you again, Darunia," Navi answered. A few seconds later she was next to Link again.

"So, where to?" Link asked, pulling out the Wind Waker.

"Solati Isle. To acquire the Scriptures of Melody," Navi answered.

Link nodded, and called out to everyone below deck, "Hang on to something, guys!" Having given his friends warning, Link conducted the Ballad of Gales, and suddenly a cyclone appeared above the ship. "Solati Isle!" Link shouted to it. The cyclone quickly dropped down and surrounded the ship, swirling it around and around before rising into the clouds again and heading out across the sea.

* * *

_Someone had traveled a long way to get to Solati Isle. Two days ago he'd started his journey, and he suspected it would not end at Solati Isle. At the moment, however, all there was to do was to wait, for he could not continue on his own. Someone needed his help, he knew, and, with any luck, that someone would be arriving very soon._

_In the distance, to the east, he suddenly saw a large swirling cloud approaching at great speed from across the sea. He'd experienced this cloud before and the very special winds it brought with it. As the cloud neared the island, the trees and other vegetation whipped about in the wind. He focused more on the dark mass in the center of the cloud. Though he couldn't be sure, he suspected that it was a ship, specifically of the pirate variety, though there would be several non-pirates onboard by this point. His thesis was proven correct as a cyclone dropped down from the cloud, depositing the ship off the shore of Solati Isle._

As the pirate ship stopped spinning and landed in the ocean, our green-clad hero let go of the mast and took a step toward the railing of the ship in order to get a better look at Solati Isle. He instead became quickly distracted by a familiar face in the water, and while he was terribly confused at the boat's presence, Link was elated to see the King of Red Lions again.

* * *

Selphie: Korl returns!!

Tingle: And he doesn't belong to you. (/disclaimer)

Selphie: Korl, by the way, for those of you who don't remember the mention of him back in about Chapters 1 and 2, is what I affectionately dubbed the King of Red Lions. So, fans rejoice. Our favorite talking boat is back in business.

Yay! Sig's a man now! About time. I'll post the sprite of him grown up on deviantART soon, so you guys can see him. Also, maybe I'll scan and post the picture I drew of him the other day. He looks pretty kickass. Anyway... I'm sorry if anyone's scarred by the mental image of a naked Goron, but I think the rock hard old man nipples in Twilight Princess were infinitely worse.

Selphie got her sash back! What does this mean for the villains? What does it mean for her?! You'll just have to wait and see.

Besides being distracted by Phantom Hourglass and being forced to revise the story, I'll also be hindered in production of the next chapter by planning of the next dungeon. This next dungeon, however, will be _amazing_. It won't be a very big or long dungeon, I don't think, but it will still kick the _shit_ out of Dusk Caverns and Passing Peak. I _swear_ it. Also, there's a very good chance I'll be stage managing (!) our fall production. If you could see my face, you would see only my lower jaw because the top half of my face was severed by my increasingly widening smile. Oh, other thing slowing me up: I'm preparing to start my own webcomic. _Yes_. It won't be for a while because I'm building up a buffer of scripts and strips (learning from the pros), but I think it bodes awesomeness. My best friends all like it so far, and they don't like comics, so I'm hoping for the best.

In other news, yay school. This week was hell, but next weekend is fall break, and I actually get to go home. So, huzzah. Also, in addition to the play, I'm my hall's representative for the Residence Hall Association, and I'm helping to plan the Great American Smoke-Out for my campus, and I've got my tutoring job in the Academic Resource Center, and I'm planning a surprise "party" for my roommate's birthday, and I will be playing intramural flag football, and I want to help organize a muggle quidditch league, and I plan to initate a math club so that by senior year I can bring a math Honor Society, Pi Mu Epsilon, to our campus. I'm busy. Oh, I also beat Final Fantasy VI two days ago. It's definitely in my top two Final Fantasies. I can't decide if I like it or Final Fantasy IV better. They're both pretty amazing. Anyway...

All right, hasta for now, folks. R&R and KIT & KIR!


	34. Chapter 33

TJ: Hey, guys! Don't freak, it's me Selphie Louise. I decided to go ahead and change my penname afterall. ThuhJesheekuh is my devArt name as well, and I like TJ better as a nickname. So, that's it from now on!

Din: Don't try to change the subject.

Nayru: You haven't given these guys new material since October.

Farore: What do you have to say for yourself?

TJ: Chapters 2-5 are all new.

Nayru: What's that supposed to mean?

TJ: It means that between last October and now, I completely rewrote four chapters (which everyone should go read if they haven't already). That averages at a chapter every two months. Now you can't complain at me.

Din: Sure we can. You didn't upload them until May.

TJ: ...Okay, I can't deal with your ridiculous accusations right now. They've waited long enough for a new chapter, so here it is!

Darunia: Disclaim--!

Linebeck: Hold it! What did I say about canon last time? You need to find a way to fit Phantom Hourglass into this mess before you can move forward!

TJ: Easy. Phantom Hourglass was a dream from what I took from the closing animation. That means you dont' exist.

Linebeck: I--! ...Oh, snap.

Darunia: Now that he's gone, disclaimer! Sel-- I mean, ThuhJesheekuh does not own anything Zelda-fied. It's all the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: She does, however, own the characters of Selphie, Sakon, Dimitra, Curt, Mace, Rosari, Gremlin, Daena, Saeda, Fiyero, Sig, Lobster, and Biggoron, as well as most of those other cool Goron peeps and the old pirate crew.

TJ: I want your game, Tingle.

Tingle: ...Really?

TJ: Read on, folks!

* * *

Chapter 33

As they neared their destination, Mila, Maggie, and Mo grew both confident in their escape and tense about the possibility of detection. Only Mila, however, was afflicted with a sudden sinking feeling. Even as Mo told them what to do once they got outside to the harbor, the sinking feeling became a sense of foreboding. She crossed to a window and carefully peeked out.

"Maggie and Mila will have to hide under barrels and sneak down. When Maggie and Mila get to big area, the dark man will be able to see Maggie and Mila. Mo will go to distract the dark man while Maggie and Mila escape in the boat of Mila."

"Mo, you can't!" Maggie protested.

"Mo has to distract the dark man so that Maggie can escape and be safe from the dark man," Mo replied.

"But if he realizes what you've done, he-- he'll!"

"He might not have to," Mila spoke up suddenly. "Look!" Mo and Maggie crossed to the window and looked out across the harbor into the large doors the dark man had occupied. He was no longer there.

"He's gone! Now we can just go right to the boat and leave together!" Maggie rejoiced.

"Mo is not so sure," the moblin stated quietly. "If the dark man is not in the chair--."

"He could be anywhere," Mila finished his statement. "He could be just outside waiting for us." She glanced to Mo, wondering if he realized what they had to do.

"Mo, Maggie, and Mila must split apart," he nodded knowingly. "Maggie, Mila, or Mo needs to tell Hero about the dark man, even if two get left behind."

"If we all make separate dashes for the boat, then hopefully, he can't catch us all," Mila agreed.

Mo nodded again. "Mo will go to the room where the dark man sat before. If the dark man really is gone, Mo will make a signal to Maggie and Mila, and Maggie, Mila, and Mo will all leave in the boat of Mila."

"Maggie, you stay here. I'll go from the old bunkroom," Mila instructed.

"…Mila should try for the boat first. If she makes it, she can get to help fastest," Maggie stated a few moments later.

"Right," Mila nodded. Heart racing she turned for the door and headed back the way they came. Mo and Maggie hugged again before Mo took the other door in the direction of his destination.

A short time later, after he'd reached the room in which the dark man had sat, Mo was looking, listening, and sniffing carefully. He didn't want to wait too long to signal okay in case Mila made it to the boat and left them. After a few long minutes, however, and having detected no trace of the dark man as he approached the room, Mo began to become convinced that the man really had already left on the errand the voices had requested.

Stepping out in to the arena, Mo waved at the window where Maggie was watching. Not a minute later, he saw her running down the first ramp. "Did you really think you could escape me so easily?" Mo's eyes widened as he heard the voice overhead. From his perch above the door, the evil man leapt down to the middle of the arena. "From the moment I awakened, I knew there were others in my lair. You are foolish to have believed yourselves unknown to me." He raised a dark hand, and energy began to gather in his palm. Maggie froze as he turned to face her, ready to throw it at her. Mo leapt out as fast as he could and tackled the man.

"Mo!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Run! Maggie must run!" Mo shouted. The girl began to round the corner to the last ramp, but something shining from the ground caught her eye, and she instead made a dash for the sword that was once the evil man undoing. Too quickly, however, the dark man threw Mo from his back and aimed his magic at her. Maggie had barely reached the sword when the spell hit her, and her limbs became hard, her body turned to stone.

"No!" Mo cried out in anguish. Angrily, he launched himself at the dark man but was, too, stopped short by the petrifying enchantment. With just a man and two statues to occupy it, the arena fell silent for a few moments, until the dark man spoke once again.

"I know one of you still remains. However, I have other business to which I must attend," he said. "I don't believe," and he waved his hand, "that you will be leaving soon." Mila's ship combusted and burned to ashes whilst a wall of fire appeared across the harbor gate. "Your boat is destroyed and you cannot make the attempt with our remaining vessels without risk of death, and you could not begin to attempt to swim to help." He paused a few moments for the words to settle. "I shall deal with you on my return." He disappeared and actually left this time.

Mila sat against the double doors of the bunkroom, hugging her knees to her chest, terrified for her life. She'd just seen her friends turned to stone and had the same threatened for her. If only she'd called out and warned Mo about the man hiding above him in the shadows. '_No, she told herself, 'If I'd warned him, I would've been caught as well, and then who would go for help?_' Not that she could really go for help now. Any way she looked at it, Mila drew the same conclusion: with no escape and the dark man returning soon, she may as well be doomed.

* * *

"The king…. It's the king! Korl!" Link shouted, running to the railing and vaulting over into the water.

"Korl?!" Tetra exclaimed from the poop deck, leaning over the paling as well. "Holy gods! It's him!" After a moment, Medli, Komali, and the pirates had run over as well, and even the others who had no idea who Korl was came out to see what the fuss was.

Link swam as fast as he could ever remember swimming, and he reached the talking boat in a matter of seconds. As soon as he'd climbed in, Link threw his arms around Korl's neck. "Korl! You're back!" he cried, hardly able to believe it.

"Indeed, I have returned," Korl responded with a light chuckle.

"You stopped talking after we defeated Ganondorf. We thought you'd… y'know…" Link told him.

"My business above water was finished once Ganondorf was vanquished," Korl replied. "My place is not on the Great Sea; it is in Hyrule. I have missed you, though."

"We missed you, too," Link smiled back. After a moment, though, the smile began to turn down. "Why did you come back, then?" Korl's expression became instantly grim, and Link felt his stomach twisting into a knot.

"Hoy! Are you coming back anytime soon or do we all have to come out to you?" Tetra called, still grinning at the sight of her ancestor. Link looked to Korl.

"Join us, please! I do not wish to speak to the wall of a ship!" Korl answered.

"Aye! Come on, boys!" Tetra set her men to pulling the pirate ship in closer to the island. Korl turned his attention back to Link.

"I've been watching you and your friends, so I know everything that has happened. Zephos and Cyclos: did they mention to you the power they, no doubt, felt building below the waves?" Korl asked. Link shook his head. "I could not well sense it from Hyrule, but in recent weeks, an immense power has been growing in the realm to the west: Termina."

"Ikana…." Link stated as they drifted toward the island.

"I fear these four villains may be a foul threat. Their deeds radiate the same evil energy as much worse fiends," Korl explained. "As soon as I learned they had influenced Jabun, a god, I knew that there was a possibility, however small, that they may draw Hyrule into conflict once more. And that is why I have come to you."

"Hoy!" Tetra greeted, also hugging the boat, her own ship being now moored nearby. "You're okay! We thought you'd kicked the bucket!"

"No, I am still quite well," Korl replied kindly, but Link was not able to alter his expression, and Tetra saw it.

"What's the matter with you? Aren't you glad to see Korl?" she asked him.

Link shook his head slightly. "He's here for a reason," he told her.

She looked back to Korl, expression immediately changed from excited to serious. "Has something happened in Hyrule?" she asked.

"Nothing yet, but I am concerned about your Terminian villains. I fear their exploits may have far-reaching consequences and that Hyrule could, once again, become a center for discord."

"But I thought they were just a bunch of thieves and traitors," Tetra said.

"That remains to be seen, but right now, you must finish your quest and lay this evil to rest," Korl told them. "The Scriptures of Melody are hidden somewhere in this island. The sooner you acquire them and save your friend, the sooner they can be sealed away again."

"Sealed away? Gods, you make them sound like Ganondorf or something," Tetra shook her head, disbelievingly.

"How do I get the Scriptures of Melody?" Link asked, focusing on the matter at hand. He turned around and took in Solati Isle for the first time since landing there. From where he stood on the beach, he could not see much, for instead of sloping up toward the center of the island, the beach ended at a rock wall too high to climb. Additionally, the wall was topped by dense trees that completely obscured the interior from view.

"I do not know for sure. Few have ever made the attempt," Korl replied as Link walked the beach a bit and found a spot where the wall turned inward. At this point, the beach ended as it met a canal, directing water inward. Across the canal was more beach and another wall that ran parallel to the one that turned inward next to Link. He leaned around to see down the channel they created, but his view was obscured as it rounded a curve. "All that is known is that you must prove yourself a worthy musician in order to obtain it. As Wind Waker, you should be able to do that."

"Right," Link nodded and turned to Tetra. "We'll look for the Scriptures. You let everyone else know what's going on. I'll try not to be too long."

"Aye-aye, mate," Tetra smirked, crossing the beach back to the ship. Link, instead, climbed into the talking boat, and he and Korl floated into the canal that led to the island's interior.

"Just like old times, huh?" Link asked, as they made their way between the rock walls.

"Indeed. I have greatly missed our adventures. They reminded me of my own exploits in the days of my youth," Korl divulged.

"'Your own?'" Link asked.

"Well, I was not always King," Korl replied. They continued to float down the canal, which consistently curved left. As they went, the sound of the sea began to muffle and fade. "I believe we are getting nearer the heart of the island. This canal has led us in a spiral." Link nodded, and just a brief moment later, the canal opened up, revealing the center of Solati Island.

A round spit of grass-covered land sat ahead of them. On it sat a very queer-looking monument. Two thin iron pillars stood opposite each other, connected by five thick metal cables. Seven large metal disks with vertical iron bars attached to their right arcs clung to the cables. The giveaway to this puzzle, however, was the giant, wrought-iron G-clef attached to the left side.

Link climbed out of the boat and approached the monument. "It's a music staff," Link asserted, noting the placement of the disks as notes.

Korl nodded, "You know what you must do, yes?" Link also nodded and took the Wind Waker in hand. Masterfully, he swept his arms about, conducting the wind to sing the song before him: _GABGBAG_. However, the wind did not sing.

"What happened? Why didn't it work?" he asked.

"It appears the nature of those walls is to keep the ocean's wind from intruding," Korl replied.

"Then how am I--?"

"Hey!" At the sound of Navi's voice, the King and Hero looked up. To their surprise, it was not just Navi that they saw fluttering down to them. Medli, too, was making her landing on the island.

"You left without us!" Navi cried.

"Link, how dare you try to do a musical dungeon without me?" Medli posed indignantly.

Link was dumbstruck for a moment. "I, uh, didn't think about it. Korl kind of distracted me," he answered, indicating the talking boat. Medli snickered at his befuddlement.

"Hello again, Medli. It is good to see you," Korl nodded.

"It's lovely to see you, too, sir," Medli responded. "So, are you going to ask for my help?" she teased.

"Uh, yeah. Actually, I could use it already," Link answered. "There's no wind for me to conduct, and I think we need to play that song." He pointed to the staff.

"Allow me, then," she bowed, removing her harp and strumming it gently. _GABGBAG_ This time, with each note struck, the disks pulsated, sending vibrations through the cables. The whole island vibrated with them, sending ripples through the water and stirring leaves from their trees. The air was filled with their humming, and finally another strange object began to appear, rising up out of the ground. It was a gold tuning fork, and it was also vibrating, what appeared to be sound waves visible between its tongs.

"I believe that is your entrance," Korl stated from behind them. "I shall wait for you here. We have much to discuss when you return."

"We'll try to be quick, then," Link said. He then turned to Medli and Navi. "Ready?"

"Let's go!" Navi bobbed. Link then climbed into the tuning fork and disappeared.

* * *

"Hey, Sig?" Komali said, standing in front of the Goron. "I know you guys eat rocks and all, but you're sitting stone-still. You'll be a statue if you don't move soon."

Sig was sitting on the floor, completely unmoving. "I feel like if I move, we'll all die," he responded. Komali snickered. "Seriously, I shouldn't be in here."

"You shouldn't worry so much," Mako cut in. "My counterweight system is designed to allow you to move about without tipping the ship."

Uncertain, Sig gingerly stepped forward. When the ship didn't capsize, he took another step and another. Komali caught Gremlin's eye and the two smirked. Now Sig tried moving sideways.

"Wah!" Komali and Gremlin threw themselves to the floor on that side.

"Aah! I'm not moving! I'm not moving!" Sig yelled. Komali and Gremlin started laughing hysterically. "Huh? Oh, come on, guys!"

Tetra watched this from the platform above, arms crossed as she wondered whether she ought to tell them now or later. Of course they'd already known that the Terminians were a huge threat, but Korl's presence seemed to change everything. She wanted to be excited for his return, but it filled her with an immense sense of foreboding.

"Hey, uh, Tetra?" She was brought back by Niko's voice next to her. "Are you okay?"

"More or less," she shrugged.

"I just thought you'd be excited to see the king again," Niko said.

"Well, he says he's worried about Hyrule getting drawn in again," she told him. "And personally, that makes me worry about Ganondorf."

"Ganondorf?" She nodded. "Captain, I know they're evil, but I doubt they're on his level," he said.

"I sure hope you're right," she sighed. Niko smiled. "What?"

"You're listening to me. Usually you… y'know," he said. "It's kinda nice."

"Yeah, well, I don't want Hyrule and Ikana going to war, y'know," she smirked. She looked down at the lower deck and everyone hanging out down there. "It's nice to see all the different tribes hitting it off. Sig and Komali are chilling with Gremlin; Rosari's getting to know the pirates; Saeda has taken a liking to you."

"I'm worried about that, actually," Niko revealed. "I think she's trying to replace her brother or something."

"That's not good," Tetra agreed.

"Yeah, I wish she'd just go to her sister," Niko replied.

"Not much chance of that happening," Tetra stated, looking over at Daena. The Sheikan heir was better about interacting with others but still kept to herself for the most part. Most heartbreaking was that she still wouldn't acknowledge Saeda.

"Still, I think I'm going to talk to Fiyero about Saeda. It's just not healthy," Niko said. Tetra nodded.

"OW! Late slap!" They looked to the table and chairs where Rosari and the pirates appeared to be playing cards. Nudge was rubbing his hand painfully.

"I reacted slow," Rosari declared innocently.

"I don't think I want to play rat screw anymore…," Nudge whimpered.

"So, are you going to tell them about Korl?" Niko asked.

Tetra sighed. "I guess I'll have to."

They were silent for a moment. Then Niko thought of something else, "Hey, Tetra? Once Link gets that songbook thing, we'll have to play the song to get into Ikana, right?"

"Yup, that's the idea," Tetra nodded.

"Uh… do you play any musical instruments?" he asked.

It was only then that it occurred to Tetra that, "No…," she didn't play any musical instruments.

"Do they?" Niko asked, pointing to the others.

They glanced between each other. "Oy! Komali, Sig, Rosari, Daena!"

* * *

On the floor before them was an emblem bearing the words "Halls of Refrain." For a temple dedicated to music, though, it was silent. Link, Medli, and Navi found their selves in a large, high-ceilinged, rectangular room. The tuning fork had let them out of an identical portal in the center of one of the long walls. Opposite them, in the other long wall, were four doors on their level. Above those four doors, on the next floor up, were four balconies with four more doors. Every door in the room was blocked by a portcullis, save the one on the far right of the first floor. There appeared to be a glowing image in the door.

"Well, let's get to it," Link declared, leading them to the open door. The glowing emblem they saw was a circle with three vertical lines inside it. As soon as he stepped through, however, he was met with a telltale twang and whistle, and a second later, an arrow was lodged in the wall right beside him.

"Watch out!" Navi warned as the sound was heard again, Link putting up his shield this time. Link looked down the long hall to see the archer, but all he saw was a violin at the other end.

"Where is that--? Whoa!" Another twang-whistle and Link realized with surprise that the violin was the source of the attack, but how he did not know. Then he saw it draw again.

"Hey! That violin has hands!" Navi declared. Indeed, the violin had two disembodied, gloved hands that were then notching an arrow and taking aim. Link thought quickly of breaking the strings and threw his boomerang down the hall at the possessed instrument. As the boomerang snapped the strings, the violin sounded out a mournful note before disappearing.

"Is it safe?" Medli asked, lowering her harp, which she used as a shield.

"Yeah, the possessed instrument is gone," Navi replied.

"So, let's watch out for those from now on. Assume any instrument will attack," Link warned. Medli nodded and followed as he started down the long corridor. Not halfway down, though, Link let out a yelp and found himself facedown on the floor.

"Link! Are you okay?" Medli asked, helping him to his feet.

"Yeah, I just tripped over something," he said, turning around and looking for the obstacle.

"Tripped over what? The floor is clean," Medli stated.

"Hmm… my feet I guess. Let's keep moving," he said. A few moments later. "Wah!"

"Link!" Medli helped him to his feet again.

"Wow, you've got two left feet today," Navi said. Link looked for the cause of his stumble, but the floor was once again smooth and clean.

"Yeah, left feet…." They continued once more down the hall.

"Wah! Okay, something definitely tripped me!" Link declared.

"Link, there's nothing there," Medli told him.

"There _was_, I swear!" Link responded, crawling along the floor ahead, feeling in front of him. Medli and Navi looked at each other in concern. "Aha!" They saw Link grab for something near the floor and start snatching frantically, "No! No, where'd it go?"

"Uh, Link?" Medli approached him slowly.

"I swear I found it!" he told her, still feeling around for whatever it was he found.

"Why don't we just move on? We're almost at the door," Medli said. Link groaned and groped once more before standing up.

"You first," he said, gesturing for her to lead. Medli sighed and moved ahead of him. But they had gone no more than five feet before Link was on the ground again. "I got it! Look! Quick before it gets away!"

Medli quickly turned and saw that Link had indeed found the culprit. Between his hands he held up a fine string like those used in stringed instruments. "It's set like a trip-wire. They each broke and retracted when I tripped over them."

"That's impressive," Navi said, flying close. "The creators of this place were obviously quite ingenious with their instruments."

"That really means we have to be on our guard," Link said. "I've never thought of what these things could do before, and now it seems they're our primary threat."

"It could be worse. Let's just keep moving and find the Scriptures of Melody," Medli replied.

Link managed to avoid any more tripwires in the last part of the hallway but was still grateful to reach the door. Thankfully, there appeared to be no more violin archers or tripwires in this room, but that just meant there could be any number of unknown threats hiding therein. The room opened up on the right and became a high-ceilinged, circular chamber with five ridges running around about a quarter of the way up. Leaning against the wall across from the door was a giant guitar, two stories high. Across from that, nearest them, was a huge keyboard in the floor and organ pipes reaching to the ceiling. Next to the organ was what seemed to be a handle sticking out of the wall.

"Wow. I wonder who plays those," Medli marveled.

"Us, I think," Link responded, stepping into the room. He spotted the handle next to the organ and approached it. Up close it more nearly resembled a hand-turned crank. "A switch?" he wondered aloud, taking it in hand and turning it. He heard a few clicks behind the wall and the sound of air rushing through the organ's pipes only to get stifled away, the organ remaining silent. "Okay, so maybe not…," Link sighed, backing away. "I think the organ's clogged or something," he announced.

"Hey! Look in here!" Navi called out from the guitar, and Link looked to see her hovering inside, behind its strings.

"What did you find, Navi?" Medli asked.

"There's a chest in here! It's big, so there must be something useful inside it!" Navi responded, flying back out again.

"Link, if you cut the strings with your boomerang, I can fly inside and get it," Medli suggested.

"Good idea. Maybe it'll give us a clue to that organ, then," he said, redrawing the boomerang and targeting the strings. One by one they snapped, but before Medli could even unfurl her wings, the strings leapt back into place and mended their selves. "They can't hide and disappear now?" Link groaned. He was answered by a squeaky titter behind him. He quickly turned to see the source and spotted seven monkeys hanging out of the tops of seven organ pipes.

"Looks like we found your clog," Medli commented. At this the monkeys started clapping and laughing their peeping laugh.

"Well, I guess that's one puzzle solved," Link replied, taking his bow and taking aim. The monkeys screeched and ducked back into the pipes, hiding from Link's bow.

"Wait! I don't think they're going to hurt us," Medli spoke up.

"Well, everything else in here has, so I wasn't going to take any chances," Link replied.

One monkey poked his head out to see whether it was safe. "It's okay, we won't hurt you!" Medli called up to it. It hopped out and gazed down at her quizzically. "Do we have to play the organ to move on?" Medli asked. The monkey nodded animatedly, bouncing in place. "Can you come out so that the organ will play?" Medli asked. The monkey shook its head "no."

"But you just said we can't go if we can't play the organ!" Link objected. The monkey dropped back inside its pipe.

"Link, don't scare him. We need his help," Medli shushed him. "Please come out! Link won't hurt you." Medli coaxed the monkey, who returned at the sound of her voice. "Is there any way we can get you to come out?"

The monkey started bouncing again, squealing excitedly. He quickly stopped and held out one arm while stroking up and down the center of his chest with the other hand. The other monkeys suddenly popped out again and copied the motion. "What are they trying to do?" Link posed.

"Give you a clue, I think," Navi replied.

"Yeah, and I think I know what to do now," Medli added as one more monkey appeared to the left, sitting still to show off the G-clef marking on his belly. Suddenly the five ridges in the wall seemed to line up with where the monkeys were sitting. "They're sitting on a staff!" she said. "The monkeys are the notes!"

"Huh?" Link looked up at the simians. He wondered why Medli had to point it out to him. "Okay, so we play it on the organ?" The monkey shook its head and repeated its previous action with more eagerness.

"No, I think this is for the guitar," Medli answered. "Maybe the strings will stay cut if you cut them in the right order." The monkeys clapped happily at this revelation.

"Okay, so…." Link pulled out the boomerang again and threw it. The boomerang plucked the guitar strings, _BDBAFBA_. The strings then vibrated of their own accord to play a full song before finally snapping and falling away. Medli flapped into the guitar without any problem this time.

"That's a Zora song from Termina. I hear it has special powers when played in the right place," Navi told them.

When Medli came out again, she had a large sheet of old parchment. Found the map," she declared. The monkeys applauded her again.

"Okay, so what's this place--?" Link's question was interrupted by the monkeys' calls, and they turned to see them hopping around on the organ pipes, moving to different positions. "Are they trying to show us another song?"

"Looks like it," Navi answered. This time the monkeys put both of their arms in front of them and moved them up and down.

"The organ this time, right?" Link asked Medli. She nodded. "Okay," he nodded, walking up and stepping on the first key. The leftmost monkey leapt down to the floor, allowing the organ to sound out a loud _D_. Medli ran forward and leapt on the next key, sending another monkey down and playing a loud F. They leapt from key to key until all the monkeys were on the floor and they'd run out of notes. They stepped off the keyboard to wait for something to happen. But it didn't.

"Well, now I'm stuck," Medli sighed. "I don't know what next."

"I think I do," Link smiled, heading over to the crank in the wall. Turning it once more, Link heard the clicking behind the wall again, and this time the air rushed all the way out. Link cranked it through the whole song, _DFDAFD_, before letting go and stepping back.

"The Requiem of Spirit," Navi bobbed. "This song would take you to the Spirit Temple if it weren't sealed under the ocean." The monkeys were all dancing to the song as they faded out of view. The song continued to play even though Link stopped cranking.

"Look!" Medli pointed at the organ pipes. They turned and quickly saw that the pipes were sinking and rising, up and down.

"I think that's our way out," Link said.

* * *

TJ: New dungeon! Woohoo! Jeebus, I feel like I designed this place forever ago.

Darunia: Probably because it was forever ago.

TJ: _Anyway_, sorry to move away from Korl again so quickly, but it's nice to have Link in a dungeon again. Now he doesn't have to feel useless. The "Halls of Refrain" is the formal name for this dungeon, and it's obviously music-themed. I'm not a musician, so I might bullshit my way through a lot of this. I did have to read the wiki article on organs for hours before I could write this because I got stuck on what to hide in the pipes. Monkeys came to me when I found the article on organ grinders and remembered that monkeys are often associated with organ grinders. Also, cute monkeys make any story better, right?

In other news, I would love for my summer "vacation" to be over right now, but, alas, it is not, and I have work in the morning. So, if you're intersted in my life, check the "Recent Developments" section of my profile in a few days.

Well, hasta for now, folks! R&R and KIT&KIR!

Oh, P.S. **_400 pages!!_**


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